Prarthana Hazarika
New Delhi, Aug 17: When the BWF World Championships return to India after 17 years, the home challenge will not be built around one player or one medal hope. It will be spread across experience, ambition and a generation of Indian shuttlers trying to turn potential into a defining result.
India’s challenge in New Delhi carries strength across the disciplines, but five names stand out for very different reasons.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty: The weight of expectation
No Indian pair will enter the championships with greater expectations than Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.
Seeded fifth, the former world No. 1 pair already have a World Championships bronze medal, an Asian Games gold and multiple major titles to their name. Their explosive attacking game has made them one of the most feared combinations in men’s doubles.
But their Delhi campaign comes with a significant caveat—Satwik’s shoulder.
The injury has interrupted the pair’s rhythm at different stages, and managing Satwik’s fitness will be crucial over what could be a physically demanding week.
The bigger challenge, however, could be expectation. Playing a World Championships at home is an opportunity, but it can also become a burden.
If Satwik and Chirag can manage both, they have the quality to go deep.
PV Sindhu: Experience against the clock
Sindhu arrives in Delhi with something that few in the draw can match—history.
The 31-year-old has won five World Championships medals, including gold in 2019, besides her two Olympic medals. She is seeded ninth this time.
But the more interesting statistic is her recent turnaround.
Sindhu won the Japan Open in July, defeating Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-17 in the final. It was her first Super 750 title and a significant reminder that the former world champion remains capable of beating the best when her game comes together.
A sixth World Championships medal would further strengthen an extraordinary record.
For Sindhu, though, this championship is about more than adding another medal. It is about showing that experience can still compensate for the physical demands of elite badminton.
Lakshya Sen: The unfinished business
Lakshya Sen’s 14th seeding perhaps understates the significance of his presence.
The 24-year-old has already stood on the World Championships podium, winning bronze in 2021, and came agonisingly close to an Olympic medal in Paris, finishing fourth.
The next step has proved harder.
Lakshya has shown flashes of the game that once made him one of the most exciting young players in world badminton. What he has lacked is the sustained consistency required to go deep in the biggest tournaments.
His preparation for Delhi has been deliberate. He trained at the BAI National Centre of Excellence in Amingaon, Guwahati, to familiarise himself with Indian conditions.
That preparation could become significant if the tournament turns into a battle of endurance.
For Lakshya, another World Championships medal would not merely be an achievement. It could provide momentum for the next phase of his career.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand: The next Indian breakthrough
Indian badminton’s women’s doubles story has long struggled for the consistency enjoyed by the men’s doubles programme.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have begun to change that.
The pair have broken into the world’s top 10 and established themselves as India’s leading women’s doubles combination. Their athleticism and speed have allowed them to challenge higher-ranked opponents, but the next step is translating that potential into a major championship medal.
Injuries have disrupted their progress at times, making their physical condition an important factor in Delhi.
A deep run would give further evidence that Indian women’s doubles is no longer merely an emerging category.
A medal, however, would make a much louder statement.
Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto: The dark horses
If there is one Indian combination capable of quietly becoming a major talking point, it could be Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto.
Seeded 15th, they do not arrive with the same expectations as the country’s better-known names.
But they have already shown they can cause an upset on this stage.
At the 2025 World Championships, Kapila and Crasto defeated fifth seeds Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet to reach the quarter-finals.
That experience gives them something valuable: evidence that they belong in the latter stages.
The challenge now is to go beyond the last eight.
A championship that could tell India where it stands
The return of the World Championships to India is more than a major sporting event. It is also a test of the depth Indian badminton has built over the past decade.
Satwik-Chirag represent the country’s established power in men’s doubles. Sindhu represents an extraordinary generation of champions. Lakshya is part of the bridge between that generation and the next. Treesa-Gayatri represent the growth of women’s doubles, while Kapila-Crasto offer the possibility of a mixed-doubles breakthrough.
There is no guarantee that all five will contend for medals.
That is not the point.
The more revealing question is whether India can produce several deep runs rather than rely on one or two stars.
After 17 years, the World Championships are finally back on Indian soil.
For these five, Delhi offers something more valuable than home advantage—it offers a chance to define the next chapter of Indian badminton.
