NEW DELHI: When the curtain came down on the BWF World Championships at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Indian badminton found itself standing at a defining intersection of pride, introspection and structural redemption. Seventeen years after India last hosted the prestigious global showpiece in Hyderabad, the Delhi edition delivered an emphatic statement both on and off the court.
Just seven months earlier, the venue had been mired in embarrassment during the India Open Super 750, a tournament marred by stray animal intrusions, monkey sightings, bird droppings and widespread player discontent. Fast forward to August, and a Rs 20 crore infrastructure overhaul featuring advanced anti-perch roof gels, enhanced climate control and meticulous operational execution turned the arena into a world-class colosseum. The turnaround was so comprehensive that the Capital has now emerged as a prime contender to host the 2028 Thomas and Uber Cup Finals.
On the court, the week belonged unreservedly to Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, whose stirring campaign culminated in a historic women’s doubles bronze medal. Ranked world No. 39 and unseeded, the duo ended a 15-year medal drought in the discipline — dating back to Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa’s bronze in London in 2011 — while keeping intact India’s proud streak of securing at least one podium finish at every World Championships since 2011.
Treesa and Gayatri’s giantkilling run was built on relentless aggression and tactical discipline. They stunned Japanese seventh seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi in the pre-quarters before mounting a sensational comeback from a game down to conquer Chinese fourth seeds Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian in the quarterfinals. Although they eventually fell to the world No. 1 Chinese pair of Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning in an electric semifinal, their fearless baseline shot making and sharp net play won over the home fans.
“If you see the whole week, it has been amazing. We created big upsets, played great matches and have so many positives to take away,” said Treesa. Chief national coach Pullela Gopichand said, “Treesa and Gayatri showed extraordinary heart. Pushing top-five pairs of the world in highpressure situations proves the strides our doubles programme has made.”
While doubles provided the silverware, the men’s singles draw produced the tournament’s biggest shock courtesy 21-year-old Ayush Shetty. The lanky debutant scripted history on opening day by dethroning defending champion and world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi of China. Ayush followed it up with a clinical 26-minute demolition of Sri Lanka’s Dumindu Abeywickrama before bowing out to Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan in the prequarters.
Ayush’s giantkilling act mirrored a wider generational shift in men’s singles. With France’s Alex Lanier capturing a historic maiden world title — the first Frenchman to do so — and Canada’s Victor Lai claiming bronze, the tournament illustrated that sustained dominance, once the hallmark of Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei or Viktor Axelsen, has given way to fierce parity across the men’s singles draw. “There are more tournaments nowadays, and there are also more good players. The intensity in the opening round itself is already very high,” Lanier said. Lai concurred, stating: “Anyone in the top 30 can beat anyone. There are no easy matches.”
For India’s established singles stars, the week was bittersweet. Former world champion PV Sindhu looked sharp in her opening rounds, dispatching Ireland’s Sophia Noble and Canada’s Wen Yu Zhang. However, her bid for a sixth Worlds medal ended in an 88-minute pre-quarterfinal marathon against third seed Wang Zhi Yi of China. In contrast, Lakshya Sen flattered to deceive. After clawing past Austria’s Collins Filimon in three games, the world No. 14 suffered a shock second-round exit against USA’s world No. 92 Garret Tan.
“Lakshya lost to a very ordinary player, and there is no excuse for this performance. He was too passive and allowed the opponent to dictate,” former chief national coach Vimal Kumar said. Elsewhere in the Indian camp, fifth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty reached the quarterfinals before going down to eventual champions Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang of China. Debutant Unnati Hooda showed immense grit, beating Thet Htar Thuzar in the opening round before missing two match points in a 21-23 decider against 13th seed Michelle Li. Mixed doubles pair Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto reached the pre-quarters, while men’s doubles duo MR Arjun-Hariharan Amsakarunan and women’s doubles combination Kavipriya Selvam-Simran Singhi tallied opening-round wins.
