BWF World Championships: Mixed results for India in New Delhi

The 2026 BWF World Championships in New Delhi saw mixed results for Indian badminton players. PV Sindhu’s pursuit of a sixth World Championship medal ended in the pre-quarterfinals after a three-game loss (11-21, 21-15, 17-21) to China’s Wang Zhi Yi. The defeat also broke Sindhu’s undefeated streak against Chinese opponents at the tournament.

In the men’s singles, Ayush Shetty was eliminated in the Round of 16 by Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan (19-21, 11-21), while Lakshya Sen exited earlier in the Round of 32 against USA’s Garrett Tan. The mixed doubles pair Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also lost in the Round of 16 to China’s Guo Xinwa and Chen Fanghui.

However, Indian doubles pairs found success. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the men’s doubles quarterfinals after a comeback victory against Malaysia’s Junaidi Arif and Yap Roy King (21-23, 21-19, 21-17). Additionally, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand secured a spot in the women’s doubles quarterfinals by defeating Japan’s Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi (21-16, 21-12), marking the first time an Indian women’s doubles pair has reached this stage since 2015.