PV Sindhu & Co. look to stretch India’s long-running medal streak at BWF World C'ships- Preview

India is set to host the BWF World Championships for the first time in 17 years at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi from August 17 to 23.

The prestigious tournament will feature all five individual events: Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles.

India has been one of the most consistent medal-winning nations at the championships, securing at least one medal in every edition since 2011.

The streak began with Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa’s women’s doubles bronze in 2011 and was extended last year by Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s men’s doubles bronze.

India will field 11 entries in total with three in mixed doubles and two each in the other four events, led by former World Champion PV Sindhu.

The five-time World medallist Sindhu is among India’s top medal hopes, along with the reigning medalist and world No. 5 men’s doubles pair of Satwik and Chirag.

Sindhu begins her campaign on Monday against Ireland’s lower-ranked Sophia Noble in the round of 64. Her first major test is expected in the pre-quarterfinals against China’s Wang Zhiyi.

In men’s singles, former World Championships medallist Lakshya Sen and rising talent Ayush Shetty will also compete in a very highly competitive field.

Ayush faces the toughest opening draw among the Indians, taking on top seed and defending champion Shi Yuqi of China on Monday, and Lakshya takes on lower-ranked Collins Filimon of Austria on Tuesday.

Indian Squad at 2026 BWF World Championships

Men's Singles: Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty

Women's Singles: PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda

Men's Doubles: Harihararan Amsakarunan/ MR Arjun, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty

Women's Doubles: Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand, Kavipriya Selvam/Simran Singhi

Mixed Doubles: Dhruv Kapila/Tanisha Crasto, Rohan Kapoor/Ruthvika Gadde, Ashith Surya/Amrutha Pramuthesh

Schedule (All Timings in IST)

17 August

9:00 AM onwards - Men's and Women's Singles First Round

9:00 AM onwards - Men's and Women's Doubles First Round

18 August

9:00 AM onwards - Men's and Women's Singles First Round

9:00 AM onwards - Men's and Women's Doubles Second Round

9:00 AM onwards - Mixed Doubles First Round

19 August

9:00 AM onwards - Men's and Women's Singles Second Round

9:00 AM onwards - Men's and Women's Doubles Second Round

9:00 AM onwards - Mixed Doubles Second Round

20 August

9:00 AM onwards - Pre-quarterfinals stage

21 August

9:00 AM onwards - Quarterfinals

22 August

9:00 AM onwards - Semi-finals

23 August

1:00 PM onwards - Finals

Where to Watch the BWF World Championships?

All the Indian action from the 2026 BWF World Championships will be live-streamed on the Jio Hotstar app and website. A few of the matches will also be broadcast on the Star Sports TV Channels.