New Delhi, August 16, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India will begin its campaign at the BWF World Championships 2026 on home soil with PV Sindhu chasing a record sixth medal and a young Ayush Shetty facing defending champion Shi Yuqi in a daunting opening-round clash at the Indira Gandhi Stadium here from August 17 to 23.
The tournament marks only the second time India is hosting the World Championships, following the 2009 edition. It also comes with a remarkable record of consistency for Indian badminton, with the country having won at least one medal at every edition since 2011.
India have collected 15 World Championships medals through 11 players, with Sindhu the only Indian to have won a world title, in 2019. Prakash Padukone secured India’s first medal, a bronze, in 1983, while Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa ended a 28-year wait for another medal by winning bronze in women’s doubles in 2011.
Since then, India have won 14 medals across 11 successive editions, a run of consistency matched only by China.
Sindhu, seeded ninth, begins her women’s singles campaign against Ireland’s World No. 141 Sophia Noble. A second-round meeting against either Bulgaria’s Stefani Stoeva or Canada’s Wen Yu Zhang awaits her. Her route to the semifinals could then bring her up against third seed Wang Zhi Yi and sixth seed Putri Kusuma Wardani.
The former world champion enters the tournament on the back of her Japan Open Super 750 triumph, her most significant title since her 2019 World Championships victory. Sindhu jointly holds the record for the most World Championships medals in women’s singles and is seeking a sixth.
Women’s singles features five seeded players who have previously won the world title. Top seed An Se Young won in 2023, while three-time and reigning champion Akane Yamaguchi is seeded second. Ratchanok Intanon, Sindhu and Nozomi Okuhara are seeded seventh, ninth and 11th respectively.
In men’s singles, 21-year-old Ayush Shetty has been handed one of the toughest possible assignments. The Asian Championships silver medallist will face top seed and defending champion Shi Yuqi in his opening match. Ayush has lost all three of his previous meetings with the Chinese player, including the Badminton Asia Championships final, where Shi prevailed comfortably.
Lakshya Sen, seeded 14th, will look to rediscover the form that carried him to the All England final earlier this season. He could meet Olympic silver medallist and former world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the pre-quarterfinals.
Men’s singles also features two other seeded former world champions in Kunlavut, the 2023 winner, and Loh Kean Yew, the 2021 champion.
In men’s doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty remain India’s leading medal hopes despite an injury-disrupted season that has included mid-match retirements. The fifth seeds have received a first-round bye and face a manageable second-round assignment, before a potential third-round meeting with 12th seeds Raymond Indra and Nikolaus Joaquin, against whom they have not previously played.
The Indian pair won bronze at the 2025 World Championships. Indonesia have three seeded pairs in the draw — Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri, Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani and Raymond Indra/Nikolaus Joaquin. Reigning champions Seo Seung Jae/Kim Won Ho, along with former champions Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik and Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi, are also among the seeded contenders.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand Pullela return in women’s doubles after injury setbacks, hoping to reproduce the form that previously lifted them into the world’s top 10.
India face a more difficult challenge in mixed doubles, a discipline in which the country is still seeking its first World Championships podium finish. Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, who upset the fifth seeds at the previous edition, could face sixth seeds Guo Xinwa and Chen Fanghui in the third round as they pursue another breakthrough run.
India Squad
Men’s singles: Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty
Women’s singles: PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda
Men’s doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty, Hariharan Amsakarunan/MR Arjun
Women’s doubles: Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand Pullela, Kavipriya Selvam/Simran Singhi
Mixed doubles: Dhruv Kapila/Tanisha Crasto, Rohan Kapoor/Ruthvika Shivani Gadde (Canada)
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