The BWF World Badminton Championships 2026 are set to take place at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi from August 17 to 23. This marks the return of the top-tier Grade 1 event to India after a gap of 17 years, with the country having last hosted it in Hyderabad in 2009.
PV Sindhu, a former champion, has been seeded ninth in the women’s singles event. India’s highest-seeded entry in the championships will be the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who secured the fifth seed. The tournament will feature India with two entries in each of the five badminton disciplines, with at least one seeded contender in four of these categories.
Indian Shuttlers’ Prospects
Former world championships bronze medallist Lakshya Sen is seeded 14th in men’s singles. In the mixed doubles category, Dhruv Kapila and Olympian Tanisha Crasto are the 15th seeds. The official draw ceremony, held on Wednesday, revealed the initial matchups for the competition.
Most top shuttlers are anticipated to have relatively straightforward first-round matches, with high-profile showdowns expected in later rounds. However, India’s Ayush Shetty faces a challenging opening match against World No 1 and defending champion Shi Yu Qi from China. This matchup was confirmed during the draw ceremony. Ayush Shetty, who is ranked World No 23, had previously lost to Shi Yu Qi in the final of the Asian Championships.
Pullela Gopichand, India’s national chief coach, commented on the draw, stating that a first-round meeting against Shi Yu Qi could be beneficial for Ayush Shetty. He believes that if Ayush wins, it could open up the draw for him. U Vimal Kumar, who oversees the training of both Ayush and Lakshya Sen at the Centre for Badminton Excellence (CBE), expressed hope that Ayush could draw inspiration from Loh Kean Yew’s unseeded run to the title in the 2021 edition in Huelva, Spain.
PV Sindhu has a favourable path in the early rounds. If she maintains her form and avoids upsets, she could potentially meet China’s Wang Zhi Yi in the women’s singles Round of 16, a player she defeated in the previous edition of the championships. Similarly, Lakshya Sen is expected to have relatively easy first two rounds, with a potential significant challenge in the Round of 16 where he might face No 2 seed Kunlavit Vitidsarn of Thailand.
Doubles Teams and Expectations
The men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are making a return after injury issues for Rankireddy. They have managed to avoid familiar rivals until at least the quarter-final stage. India’s doubles coach, Tan Kim Her, confirmed that Satwiksairaj Rankireddy has fully recovered and is ready for the competition. The mixed doubles pairing of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crastro could face their main test from the Round of 16 stage.
The women’s doubles combination of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have experienced a challenging season. Despite a dip in rankings, the duo, who found some success at the Philippine International Challenge, are set to play against Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez of Spain in the first round.
The significance of the World Championships returning to India is highlighted by Pullela Gopichand, who noted the country’s evolution in badminton since 2009. He expressed his satisfaction with the event being back, anticipating a grander scale this time. Gopichand also pointed out the emergence of multiple Indian players capable of challenging for podium finishes, a contrast to the situation in 2009. Indian shuttlers have consistently secured medals at the championships since the 2011 edition.
Source: newsonair.gov.in
