From Dusty Backyards to BWF Glory: Ayush Shetty and Tanvi Sharma Embody the New DNA of Indian Badminton
In the parched backyard of a farmer’s home in Sanoor, near Karkala in Karnataka, a quiet revolution began. A wiry eight-year-old Ayush Shetty, racquet in hand and dreams in his eyes, was coached by his father Ram Prakash Shalmili himself a farmer turned badminton coach. This unlikely beginning, marked by improvisation and raw intent, now stands in stark contrast to where Ayush finds himself in June 2025: lifting his maiden BWF Super 300 title at the US Open.
At the same tournament, a 16-year-old Tanvi Sharma from Hoshiarpur, Punjab, announced herself on the world stage by reaching the women’s singles final, defeating four higher-ranked opponents along the way. The simultaneous ascent of Ayush and Tanvi isn’t just a moment of personal glory it tells a layered story of the sacrifice, challenges, and grit that define the evolving ecosystem of Indian badminton. Their stories, emerging from opposite ends of the country, reflect a deeper narrative: that India’s next badminton champions are just as likely to emerge from forgotten corners as they are from elite academies.
Dreams That Demanded Sacrifice
Ayush’s journey mirrors the archetype of many Indian sporting prodigies early promise, parental belief, and a forced uprooting from familiar surroundings in search of better training infrastructure.
At 12, Ayush left the only world he knew and moved to Bangalore. It was a bold gamble. His father’s decision to shift focus from farming to coaching his son was neither financially secure nor socially popular. Academic pursuits were deprioritized. All chips were placed on the badminton board.
Tanvi’s story is equally remarkable. Encouraged into sports by her mother Meena, a former volleyball player, Tanvi entered the Gopichand Academy at the tender age of 11. For five long years, she trained without a scholarship an indication of both her family’s commitment and the limited institutional support available to many aspiring athletes. Her rise wasn’t meteoric it was painstaking. Yet that foundation has now propelled her into global spotlight at just 16.
Both journeys expose a shared truth: Indian badminton is still heavily dependent on personal sacrifice, not systemic support. Behind every medal or ranking leap is an often invisible cost—financial strain, missed school years, social alienation, and immense psychological stress.
Navigating Crisis and Coming of Age
The pandemic years proved to be a turning point. For Ayush, COVID-19 interrupted momentum, halted access to training, and created emotional uncertainty. Yet, he emerged from it more focused and hardened. By 2023, his bronze medal at the World Junior Championships signaled that India had found a special talent.
Tanvi’s climb was tougher. Navigating India’s badminton landscape without early sponsorship or recognition required more than just talent—it demanded resilience and resourcefulness. Her breakout moment came earlier this year when she became Junior World No. 1. At the US Open, she took out players ranked 23rd, 40th, 50th, and 58th in the world before falling to American veteran Beiwen Zhang. It was not defeat, but arrival.
The contrast in their approaches was telling. After her semifinal victory, Tanvi casually admitted, “I didn’t think I would get to the finals.” In that one line was the beauty of unburdened ambition young athletes not shackled by past failures or national expectations, but driven by self-belief.
Ayush, meanwhile, played with a quiet authority, defeating Canada’s Brian Yang in the final. His win was not just for himself it was a breakthrough for Indian men’s singles, which had seen a dip in form since Lakshya Sen’s struggles post-Paris Olympics.
More Than Medals: What Their Wins Represent
Ayush’s title was India’s first BWF World Tour title of the season and the first BWF title won outside the country in over a year. Tanvi became the youngest Indian woman ever to reach a Super 300 final. These milestones aren’t just trivia they are indicators of a shift. Indian badminton is no longer content with participation. Winning is the new language.
Their performances suggest a new mentality one that sees global success not as a distant dream, but as an immediate goal. It’s this mental transformation, more than any technical improvement, that defines the most significant shift in Indian badminton in recent years.
The Unanswered Question: Systemic Growth or Accidental Success?
Yet, even as Ayush and Tanvi bask in well-earned success, questions linger. Are these triumphs signs of a robust pipeline or rare outcomes in a broken system?
Ayush and Tanvi’s development came through extreme individual sacrifice, with limited systemic cushioning. Despite efforts by the Badminton Association of India to identify and support junior talent like through the Junior Badminton Championship the path from talent identification to world-class performance remains riddled with gaps. Financial insecurity, patchy support, and an overreliance on private academies continue to plague the sport.
The emergence of players like Devika Sihag, who defeated Tanvi at the National Championships, and promising doubles players like Ashith Surya and Amrutha Prathumesh, show that there is no shortage of talent. However, their success continues to be contingent on navigating institutional indifference, making it to the top more of a miracle than a natural progression.
A Pivotal Moment for Indian Badminton
The careers of PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen stand as a cautionary tale in this context. Sindhu, though still India’s biggest badminton icon, has struggled for consistency, while Sen’s form has fluctuated since his early promise. In such a transitional period, young stars like Ayush and Tanvi carry not just the hope of the nation but the responsibility of resetting the expectations from Indian badminton.
Their achievements have brought commercial attention Tanvi recently signed with IOS Sports & Entertainment, a move that indicates increased faith in the sport’s marketability. Yet, commercial success should not become a substitute for structured support. The hope is that their wins will inspire not just kids in far-flung towns, but also stakeholders to build a better, more reliable ecosystem.
A Blueprint or an Exception?
Ayush Shetty and Tanvi Sharma represent more than medals or momentary headlines. They are templates of perseverance, of untapped potential, and of what’s possible even when the odds are insurmountable. But they are also reminders that these successes happen not because of the system, but often in spite of it.
The next decade of Indian badminton will be shaped by how this moment is interpreted. Will it lead to a structural revolution or fade into a recurring cycle of individual brilliance unsupported by long-term planning?
Ayush and Tanvi have shown that greatness can come from dusty backyards and unassuming beginnings. Now, it is up to Indian badminton to ensure such stories become the norm not the exception.
