Badminton World Championships 2026: Easy Starts For Sindhu & Lakshya, Ayush To Face Defending Champion
News sports badminton Badminton World Championships 2026: Easy Starts For Sindhu & Lakshya, Ayush To Face Defending Champion Badminton World Championships 2026: Easy Starts For
News sports badminton Badminton World Championships 2026: Easy Starts For Sindhu & Lakshya, Ayush To Face Defending Champion Badminton World Championships 2026: Easy Starts For Sindhu & Lakshya, Ayush To Face Defending Champion Published By, Last Updated: August 06, 2026, 11:35 IST Indian shuttlers get mixed BWF World Championships draw. Ayush Shetty faces Shi Yu Qi, while PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen have favorable starts. (From left) Lakshya Sen, PV Sindhu and Ayush Shetty (PTI/ANI) India’s leading badminton stars received contrasting draws for the BWF World Championships in New Delhi, with Asian Championships silver medallist Ayush Shetty facing the biggest early challenge against defending champion Shi Yu Qi of China. While Ayush has been handed a daunting first-round assignment, former world champion PV Sindhu and 2021 World Championships bronze medallist Lakshya Sen will begin their campaigns against lower-ranked opponents, giving India’s medal hopefuls a more comfortable start in New Delhi. The prestigious tournament is returning to India after 17 years and will be played at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium from August 17 to 23. Sindhu Eyes 6th Medal Sindhu, who won the Japan Open last month, will begin her pursuit of an unprecedented sixth World Championships medal against world No. 141 Sophia Nobel of Ireland. The draw has placed the Indian star away from some of the biggest threats until the later stages. She has avoided world No. 1 An Se Young of South Korea and defending champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan before the medal rounds. Although Sindhu is in the same half of the draw as Young, she is expected to face China’s third seed Wang Zhi Yi in the pre-quarterfinals, with a potential quarterfinal meeting against Indonesia’s sixth seed Putri Wardani.
Tough Challenge Awaits Lakshya Lakshya will open his campaign against Austria’s Collins Valentine Filimon. If he advances, the Indian is likely to meet second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the pre-quarterfinals. Chief national coach Pullela Gopichand backed Lakshya’s chances, highlighting how much the former Commonwealth Games champion has developed since winning his maiden World Championships medal in 2021. “Well, he has had some good tournaments, he has won some big tournaments. He has also missed out on a few big ones," he said. “The 2021 bronze medal he has won, which is one of his bigger wins at the starting of his career. Today I would say he is much more mature, he has got more experience on his side. He has been able to win some big tournaments. “But I think this is going to be a tough one. Having said that, on a good day, Lakshya is going to beat anybody in the world. And he has, if I remember correctly, he is drawn in the same quarter-finals, pre-quarter-finals as Kunlavut Vitidsarn. So that is going to be a tough, long, physical match is what I would expect. “But I am confident that with the home conditions and with the time we had for preparation in the last few weeks, I think we can expect some good results from him." Gopichand Backs Ayush Ayush‘s first-round clash against Shi is among the standout matches of the opening stage. The Indian has lost all three of his previous meetings against the Chinese star but has pushed him closely in recent encounters. Gopichand believes facing Shi early could work in Ayush’s favour. “I think overall it looks like a good draw from an Indian perspective and one of the big first rounds with Shi Yu Qi versus Ayush Shetty," Gopichand told reporters after the draw ceremony.
The BriefWire