India will enter the 2026 BWF World Championships with the expectations that would have been difficult to imagine when the country last hosted the tournament in Hyderabad in 2009. Back then, Indian badminton was still finding its existence on the global stage. Today, the country has produced Olympic medallists, former world champion, established stars and a stronger pool of players across events.
The World Championships will return to India after 17 years and New Delhi is set to host the tournament from August 17 to 23. Ahead of the competition, RevSportz spoke exclusively to National Badminton Team Chief Coach, Pullela Gopichand, about the growth of Indian badminton and India’s standing in the sport.
Gopichand believes the biggest change from 2009 is not just the results but the depth India now has across different events.
“When we hosted the World Championship last time, we didn’t have any expectations from us to host the event, which was the biggest challenge,” Gopichand said. “But today when we are looking at this event, I think we are looking at performances as a definitive benchmark. And across the the events, we do seem to have bright chances to win medals.”
The former All England champion was also the part of India’s journey during the 2009 World Championships in Hyderabad. He feels the sport has come a long way since then, both in terms of results and also in the wider sporting environment in the country.
“I think overall 2009 was very formative years for Badminton. We had never won a World Championship medal prior to that. And it’s a very different perspective now. India, as a sporting nation back in the day in 2009, wasn’t really there. And today we are looking whether it’s Badminton or many of the other sports, we are definitely looking at a very vibrant sporting ecosystem in our country. In Badminton also, we have much bigger bench strength and the results have been quite good across the board in various events.”
That increased depth is reflected in the Indian contingent heading into the tournament. “If you look at the men’s singles, we have two very strong players: Lakshya and Ayush. In the women’s singles, we have Sindhu, who recently won Japan Open. I think that came at the right time for her to peak and perform at the highest level at the World Championships. We also have Unnati, a young player.”
“In the men’s doubles, Satwik and Chirag having won Singapore Open recently, I think they’re back in form. I think to have multiple people seeded in the big events is a big thing. We also have a mixed doubles seed in Tanisha and Dhruv. And also in the women’s doubles, I think Gayatri and Treesa recently won the Challenger in the Philippines. With such performances and the local conditions and the crowd support, I do hope that they will transform into medal winning and podium-finishing results.”
Gopichand believes home crowd could play an important role and he also revealed that the tournament has already generated strong interest as the tickets are sold out ahead of the event.
“I think an event like the World Championship draws in lots of crowds,” he said. “And looking at the kind of ticket sales, we’ve completely sold out the tickets. So I am hoping that we’ll have major crowds come in to watch badminton from across the country to Delhi.”
One of India’s biggest hopes will be PV Sindhu who will enter the World Championships after winning the 2026 Japan Open. She is chasing a record sixth World Championships medal, having already won gold (2019), silver (2017 and 2018) and bronze (2013 and 2014) at the tournament.
Gopichand believes another medal would be a stunning addition to Sindhu’s remarkable World Championships record.
“I think she’s been an amazing player and she’s backed it up with all kinds of performances right from gold, silver, bronze. Multiple years she’s performed and got medals right from about 13 years ago to now. I think she’s been a phenomenal player for Indian badminton and it will be great to have another medal at the World Championships locally.”
Gopichand also shared a positive update on Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s injury concerns ahead of the campaign. He said, “They’re perfectly alright and I think they’ve had a good stint of training. Tan Kim along with the other coaches and the support team have put in a lot of work to ensure that they’re in peak fitness for the tournament and I’m sure we’ll have some good performances from Satwik and Chirag.”
Alongside the established stars, India will also look towards its younger players. Ayush Shetty, who will make his World Championships debut, is one player Gopichand expects to make an impact.
“Ayush is a debutant but I think the way he played at the Badminton Asia Championship is testimony to the fact that he can win any of the biggest tournaments in the world,” Gopichand added, “I think he has a tough first round but having said that, I think he’s definitely someone whom I have a lot of expectation from and I do believe that we can expect some really good results from him at this World Championships.”
The expectations at this tournament are much higher than in 2009, but Gopichand believes the current Indian team has the depth and experience to turn those expectations into medals.
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