Amrin Siddique, New Delhi
India could hardly have asked for a better opening day at the BWF World Championships. Five matches and five wins in front of a home crowd. But now the tournament moves into Day 2, and the challenge is no longer about making a statement; it is about building on it.
India’s rising star Ayush Shetty stunned defending men’s singles champion and world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi, star shuttler PV Sindhu secured a comfortable win, and three Indian doubles pairs also registered victories to give the home contingent the perfect start on Monday. The momentum now shifts to a new set of players, with Lakshya Sen and Unnati Hooda taking centre stage alongside India’s doubles combinations.
World No. 14 Lakshya will be one of the biggest names in action on Tuesday when he faces Austria’s Collins Valentine Filimon in the men’s singles opening round. For Lakshya, playing at a World Championships on home soil brings both expectation and opportunity. He enters the tournament as one of India’s established medal hopes and will aim to make a strong start before the competition gets tougher in the later rounds.
Unnati will also begin her women’s singles campaign against Myanmar’s Thet Htar Thuzar. Unnati is one of four Indians making their World Championships debuts this year.
Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde will open their World Championships campaign against Canada’s Jonathan Lai and Crystal Lai. Rohan and Ruthvika defeated the Canadian pair in their previous meeting.
One of the more interesting stories of the day is in mixed doubles, where Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh will finally get their chance on the World Championships stage. The pair was added to the draw only a day before the tournament began.
The women’s doubles draw will also carry forward the momentum created on Day 1. Both Indian pairs that won their opening matches will return to court. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who defeated Spain’s Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez, will face the American pair of Lauren Lam and Allison Lee. Meanwhile, Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi, who defeated Spain’s Nikol Carulla and Carmen Maria Jimenez, will now face Bulgarian pair Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva.
India’s matches on Tuesday, August 18:
Mixed Doubles: Rohan Kapoor/Ruthvika Shivani Gadde vs Jonathan Lai/Crystal Lai (Canada)
Women’s Singles: Unnati Hooda vs Thet Htar Thuzar (Myanmar)
Mixed Doubles: Ashith Surya/Amrutha Pramuthesh vs Emre Sonmez/Yasemen Bektas (Turkey)
Women’s Doubles: Kavipriya Selvam/Simran Singhi vs Gabriela Stoeva/Stefani Stoeva (Bulgaria)
Women’s Doubles: Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand vs Lauren Lam/Allison Lee (USA)
Men’s Singles: Lakshya Sen vs Collins Valentine Filimon (Austria)
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