Lakshya Sen upset as PV Sindhu and Ayush Shetty progress at BWF World Championships in New Delhi

PV Sindhu and Ayush Shetty advanced while Lakshya Sen was eliminated on day three of the BWF World Championships 2026 at the Indira Gandhi Stadium on Wednesday. Sindhu and Shetty won their second-round matches to move into the pre-quarterfinals; Sen was beaten in a three-game contest.

Sindhu, seeded ninth, beat Canada’s Zhang Wen Yu 21-16, 21-17 in the women’s singles second round. Ayush Shetty dismissed Sri Lanka’s Dumindu Abeywickrama 21-8, 21-10 in 26 minutes to reach the men’s singles pre-quarterfinals. Sindhu is scheduled to meet third seed Wang Zi Yi of China in the round of 16 after Wang defeated Malaysia’s Karuoathevan Letshanaa 21-16, 21-9 earlier in the day. Ayush is set to face Indonesia’s 11th seed Alwi Farhan, who had progressed by beating Joakim Oldorff of Finland 21-12, 21-9.

Two-time world championships bronze medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the round of 16 via a walkover after their Scottish opponents withdrew because of an injury to Alexander Dunn. The pair did not take the court and were awarded the victory due to the opponent’s injury.

Lakshya Sen, seeded 14th, lost to 18-year-old Garret Tan of the United States in a three-game match said to have lasted an hour and 13 minutes, the scoreline reported as 19-21, 21-19, 21-17. Sen took the opening game but Tan’s powerful smashes shifted the momentum; in the deciding game Sen trailed 4-11 before recovering to 16-17, after which a couple of errors and Tan’s aggression ended Sen’s chances.

Unnati Hooda, making her world championships debut, was beaten by 13th seed Michelle Li of Canada 11-21, 21-9, 23-21 after failing to convert two match points. On both occasions Unnati’s pushes went out on the side and Li closed out the match with a down-the-line smash.

Other Indians to progress on Wednesday included the mixed doubles pair Dhruv Kapila/Tanisha Crasto alongside Ayush Shetty, PV Sindhu and Satwik–Chirag, who all advanced to the next round of the BWF World Championships 2026. These results complete the set of Indian winners reported from day three action at the tournament.

Sindhu will face Wang Zi Yi in the round of 16, and Ayush Shetty will meet Alwi Farhan for a place in the quarter-finals.