Badminton: List of all Indian medallists in BWF World C'ships history

India is set to host the BWF World Championships in New Delhi from August 17 to 23. The tournament will return to India after 17 years, having first been hosted in the country in 2009 in Hyderabad.

The BWF World Championships are held every year, except during the Summer Olympic Games, when the tournament is skipped to avoid a clash with the Olympics.

The event was held every three years from 1977 to 1983 before becoming a biennial tournament from 1985 to 2005. Since 2006, it has been held annually, apart from Olympic years.

India has been part of the World Championships since 1977 and has produced several memorable performances over the years.

India has won 15 medals at the tournament – one gold, four silver and 10 bronze medals. PV Sindhu remains the only Indian player to win a World Championships gold medal.

Here, we take a look at all Indian medallists in the BWF World Championships history

Prakash Padukone

In 1983, India did not only win its first Cricket World Cup, but it also won its first medal at the BWF World Championships.

Prakash Padukone won the bronze medal in men's singles at the World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. He lost his semi-final match to Indonesia's Icuk Sugiarto 15-9, 7-15, 1-15, but his performance gave India its first-ever medal at the World Championships.

Ashwini Ponnappa and Jwala Gutta

After Padukone's initial success, India returned to the World Championships podium only in 2011 through Ashwini Ponnappa and Jwala Gutta.

The women's doubles pair reached the semi-finals in London before losing to the fifth-seeded Chinese pair of Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei 14-21, 16-21.

Their semi-final defeat earned them a historic bronze medal, India's first medal in 28 years.

PV Sindhu 

PV Sindhu announced her arrival at the big stage during the BWF World Championships in 2013.

Competing in Guangzhou, China, Sindhu reached the semi-finals before losing to Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon 10-21, 13-21. The result earned Sindhu a bronze medal, a first-ever in women's singles for the country.

Sindhu followed up her 2013 medal with another bronze at the 2014 World Championships. She lost her semi-final match but still finished with a bronze medal as there was no third-place playoff at the tournament. She shared the bronze with Japan's Minatsu Mitani.

In 2017, a year after her silver medal win at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Sindhu stormed into her first World Championships final. She lost out to Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 19-21, 22-20, 20-22 in what is still considered to be one the best women's singles matches in badminton history.

Two years later, Sindhu finally became the first Indian to be crowned the badminton world champion. Up against Okuhara in what was the repeat of the 2017 final, the Indian shuttler breezed to the title with a 21-7, 21-7 win in just 38 minutes.

In between she had again added a silver in 2018, losing to Spain's Carolina Marin 19-21, 10-21 in the final.

Sindhu is undoubtedly India's most successful shuttler at the BWF World Championships, winning two bronze, two silver, and a gold.

Saina Nehwal 

Saina Nehwal created history in 2015 by becoming the first Indian woman to reach a World Championships singles final.

She won the silver medal in Jakarta after losing the final to Spain's Carolina Marin 21-16, 21-19 in 59 minutes.

Two years later in 2017 Saina also added a bronze medal to her kitty. She would lose the semi-finals to the eventual champion Nozomi Okuhara, who'll also go on to beat PV Sindhu to be crowned the champion that year.

Sai Praneeth

In the same year that Sindhu was crowned the world champion, Sai Praneeth broke the medal drought suffered by Indian men shuttlers.

He reached the semi-finals before losing to eventual champion Kento Momota 13-21, 8-21 to become the first Indian man since Prakash Padukone in 1983 to win a medal at the BWF World Championships.

Lakshya Sen

The 2021 BWF World Championships in Huelva, Spain was the breakthrough moment of the career for a young Lakshya Sen.

Sen had a splendid run in the tournament, reaching the semi-finals before eventually losing out to fellow Indian Kidambi Srikanth to return home with a bronze.

Kidambi Srikanth 

Having beaten Lakshya Sen in the semi-finals of the 2021 edition, Srikanth made history by becoming the first Indian man to reach the BWF World Championships final.

He couldn't get his hand on the top spot of the podium as he lost out 15-21, 20-22 to Singapore's Loh Kean Yew.

Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy

India's pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty reached the semi-finals at the 2022 World Championships.

They lost to Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik 22-20, 18-21, 16-21 and took home the bronze medal, becoming the first Indian men's doubles pair to win a medal at the BWF World Championships.

They would also go on to win another bronze medal in 2025, a year after their heartbreaking quarter-final exit at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

HS Prannoy

HS Prannoy won bronze at the 2023 World Championships in Copenhagen. Prannoy reached the men's singles semi-finals before losing to Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-18, 13-21, 14-21.