Doubles carry India’s hopes after Sindhu and Ayush exit at World Championships in New Delhi
India’s singles campaign at the BWF World Championships ended on August 20, 2026, at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi when P.V. Sindhu and Ayush Shetty were eliminated in the pre-quarterfinals, leaving the host nation’s hopes on its doubles entries. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand progressed to the quarterfinals, as did Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, following victories on the day.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand beat Japan’s Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi 21-16, 21-12 to reach the last eight, while Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty recovered from a first-game loss to defeat Malaysia’s Junaidi Arif and Roy King Yap 21-23, 21-19, 21-17. P.V. Sindhu fell to World No. 3 Wang Zhi Yi 21-11, 15-21, 21-17 in an 88-minute match, and Ayush Shetty was defeated by Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan 21-19, 21-11.
Sindhu’s match against Wang produced prolonged exchanges, with the longest rally recorded at 54 shots and numerous 40-plus-shot rallies. Wang, playing from the slower side, surged ahead in the opening game and relied on defence, flat drives and deceptive cross-court drops to counter Sindhu’s attack; the packed, vocal crowd remained engaged throughout the contest. At 15-15 in the decider Wang took a medical time-out for a cramp in her left leg after a failed dive, returned to the court and, despite hobbling while clutching her right thigh, closed out the victory.
Ayush’s outing against Alwi was markedly different from their previous meeting: the pair had split an encounter at the China Open with Ayush winning in three, but on Thursday Alwi raised his level and denied Ayush significant opportunities, finishing the match in straight games.
Treesa and Gayatri extended what the report called a dream run by knocking out the seventh-ranked, last year’s bronze medallists to reach the quarterfinals — their best finish at the event. Their opening game was a swing of momentum: leading 13-9, they conceded seven straight points to trail 13-16 before rallying eight consecutive points to take it 21-16, and then controlled the second game to close out the match.
Satwik and Chirag, playing their first match of the tournament and returning to competitive action after almost three months, looked rusty early and failed to convert chances in the opening game before regrouping. The pair rotated responsibilities during the match, with Chirag taking much of the backcourt work and Satwik producing winners, and they relied on a late-night, packed stand atmosphere as they recovered to win the last two games and the match.
Other notable results on the day included Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto losing to China’s Guo Xinn Wa and Chen Fang Hui 21-16, 21-5; Sze Fei Goh and Nur Izzuddin beating Hsiang Chieh Chiu and Chi-Lin Wang 21-17, 21-17; Febriana Kusuma and Meilysa Puspitasari edging Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan 20-22, 21-18, 21-12. In singles, Victor Lai defeated Loh Kean Yew 22-20, 21-18 and Kunlavut Vitidsarn beat Garret Tan 21-10, 21-10, while An Se Young beat Mia Blichfeldt 21-16, 21-10 and Nozomi Okuhara overcame Ishika Jaiswal 21-11, 13-21, 21-12. Mixed doubles results included wins for Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping 21-19, 21-18 over Yuta Watanabe and Maya Taguchi and for Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran 17-21, 21-12, 21-17 over Yuichi Shimogami and Sayaka Hobara.
With Sindhu and Ayush eliminated, India’s remaining representation at the World Championships rests on its two doubles pairs: Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand in the women’s doubles and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in the men’s doubles, both through to the quarterfinal stage.