Taking on Lakshya in the opening round is itself a challenge: Ayush

Ayush Shetty, who was handed a tricky opening round draw against compatriot and senior pro Lakshya Sen, will be hoping to be third time lucky when he takes the court at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open Super 750 tournament here on Tuesday.

The 20-year-old, in his maiden appearance at the country’s marquee event on the world tour, admitted it was not the ideal situation but hoped to be on the winning side. “Playing Lakshya in the opening round of the India Open itself is a pity. But I see it as a challenge, he is probably one of the best in the world and we had a couple of great matches last year, I lost them both but hope to be on the winning side this time around,” Shetty said on the eve of the competition.

Having trained alongside Viktor Axelsen in Dubai, Shetty was all praise for the Dane but insisted he was not looking to emulate the Olympic and former world champion. “I think we have a pretty similar game, we both like to attack. It was really special training with him and he gave a lot of inputs on how I can get better. There were a lot of learnings from him both on and off the court, how he manages himself and his discipline among others.

“He is my idol, someone I look up to but I think I would like to create my own path, there is no comparison. The main goal is to rise up the rankings through the year and hopefully be in the top-10,” added the current World No. 32.

Asked about the transition from juniors to seniors, Shetty said the most important thing was mindset. “It was really tough to transition and it is challenging being consistent all the time. But I think the most important thing for anyone is confidence in your game and the belief that you are good enough to compete with the best,” Shetty said.