Worlds Apart: Indian badminton's medal hopes rise against global competition

Much has changed over these 17 years since BWF World Championships last travelled to India. The 2009 hosts were a tiny presence on the global badminton map then. A previous generation’s feats were far in the past, while a younger one was just heralding a new era for Indian badminton.

A 19-year-old Saina Nehwal had just become the first Indian to win a BWF Super Series title. Also, China’s domination on the game was absolute, led by the likes of Lin Dan, Chen Jin, Xie Xingfang, and more in every category. At the Hyderabad edition of the Championships, they pocketed 10 of the 20 medals and four of the five golds.

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At the next two and the 2012 Olympics, the Chinese took home all five golds. In 2026, with the capital hosting the tournament at a refurbished Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, starting tomorrow till August 23, none of the countries enjoys that kind of command over the courts. And, India has long graduated from participation-happy to medal-winners.

The 14 World Championships medals, including PV Sindhu’s gold in 2019, three Olympic podium finishes, and three world top ranks (Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth, and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty) prove the point. China has not won the women’s singles title since 2011. In the men’s singles, the top seed and world No. 1, Shi Yu Qi, might still be coming from China, but he is hardly an outright favourite. His path to the title will be anything but easy as the category is almost a minefield.

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Shi has won only one tournament this year, while world No. 2 Kunlavut Vitidsarn, No. 3 Jonathan Christie, No. 4 Anders Antonsen, and No. 5 Christo Popov, sensational No. 7 Victor Lai are all entering the tournament with better results. The defending champion Shi, in fact, starts his campaign against home boy Ayush Shetty, whom he beat to win his that lone title at the Badminton Asia Championships.

“If he wins that, it opens up the draw,” said the Indian national head coach Pullela Gopichand of the matchup, words that indicated both Shetty’s calibre and a probability of an upset adding another layer of excitement to the men’s singles. If Lakshya Sen, world No. 14 and 2022 edition bronze medallist, could persevere and outsmart Thailand’s Vitidsarn, whom he might face in the pre-quarterfinals, the Indians would have played their part in the party.

Similar is the story in the men’s doubles, except that India have serious podium expectations from world No. 5 and 2025 bronze-medallist duo of Satwik-Chirag. South Korean top guns Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae no longer look as invincible as they did in 2025. The defending champions have their main nemesis in Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul, who outdid them at both Japan Open and China Open this year.

Satwik-Chirag’s triumph over the Indonesian pair at the Singapore Open in May has been the highlight of their season so far, which has otherwise been marred by early exits and injuries.

“The quality of the top 20 is what the top 10 used to be,” Scottish European champion Kirsty Gilmour summed up the sport’s competitiveness and the hunger of its younger generation, in a recent BWF interview. Yet, while the women’s events have clear gold-medal favourites — South Korean top-seed An Se Young in singles, and China’s top-ranked Liu Sheng ShuTan Ning in doubles — there is only one woman all eyes will be on.

Sindhu, the five-time world championship medallist, is ranked No. 9 in the world and has struck form at just the right time, winning the Japan Open last month after beating defending world champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan. The draw has been kind to her, too. Sindhu will not run into the likes of Young or Yamaguchi before the medal rounds.

Chinese world No. 3 Wang Zhi Yi and No. 4 Chen Yufei have already cautioned everybody about the challenge Sindhu has been mounting. Add to that an enviable record at an event which is second only to the Olympics for the sport, and a home turf, her rivals have much more to worry about than her celebrated smash.

Australia on Ropes as Bangladesh Dominate Day 3 Darwin: Australia all-rounder Cameron Green and wicketkeeper Alex Carey were left with an improbable rescue mission on Saturday as Bangladesh moved within six wickets of an upset for the ages on day three of the first Test.

Australia, the world’s top-ranked Test nation, were in trouble at 161 for 4 at stumps, still 67 runs in arrears after Bangladesh’s underrated batters put 426 on the board. A victory scenario that appeared unthinkable days ago burst into view after tea, when Australia’s No. 4 Steve Smith spooned a caught-and-bowled to allrounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz to be out for 44. The departure of Australia’s time-honoured saviour left the hosts in trouble at 122 for four and had Bangladesh players mobbing and roaring in triumph on the Marrara Oval pitch. Reuters India begin World Cup Campaign with 3-1 Win Over W