BWF World C'ships: Top shuttlers brace for tough challenge to keep India's medal streak alive

New Delhi, Aug 24 (IANS) With the BWF World Championships starting on Monday in the French capital, India’s star shuttlers are all geared up to shoulder the huge responsibility of continuing the medal streak at the mega event, which dates back to 2011.

Since Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa’s historic bronze that year, India has won 14 medals at the World Championships, featuring on the podium at every edition. But the 2025 event poses a stern test, with injuries and poor form affecting key players.

The 2021 bronze medallist Lakshya Sen will face a strong challenge in his opening round as he runs into top seed Shi Yu Qi of China, who has won three BWF World Tour Super 1000 titles this season. Their last meeting was at the Indonesia Open in June, where Lakshya’s performance was excellent for most of the match but he couldn’t get past the line in a three-game thriller.

Another key contender for India is men’s singles bronze medallist from the last edition, H.S. Prannoy. He kicks off his campaign against world No. 49 Joakim Oldorff of Finland, with a challenging potential second-round showdown against second seed Anders Antonsen of Denmark.

Should Prannoy manage to pull off an upset against yet another Dane favourite, he will face a tough draw featuring 15th seed Toma Junior Popov, the returning Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, and 6th seed Chou Tien Chen. At 33, it will be fascinating to watch if Prannoy can replicate his impressive performance from last time and extend India’s medal hopes.

In women’s singles, former champion and two-time Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu, the most accomplished Indian with five world championship medals, has struggled for form in the 2025 season. Her best run on the BWF World Tour this year was a quarter-final finish at the Indian Open back in January.

Sindhu will face world No. 66 and two-time European junior champion Kaloyana Nalbantova of Bulgaria in her opening round match, and potentially face Malaysia’s Letshanaa Karupathevan in the second round. However, the Indian ace could face a stern test in the quarterfinals in the form of second seed Wang Zhi Yi of China.

With five medals at the BWF World Championships, Sindhu stands as only the second woman, after China’s Zhang Ning, to have won five or more singles medals at the event. As she eyes her sixth medal in 2025, the Indian ace is set to write another remarkable chapter in her illustrious career.

India’s top men’s doubles duo, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, enter the World Championships as the country’s best medal bet despite a challenging season. Seeded ninth, they received an opening-round bye and have a chance to avenge their Paris Olympic quarterfinal loss to second seeds Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik.

However, before that potential clash, Satwik-Chirag must overcome another tough hurdle in the round of 16 against their long-time nemeses — Paris Olympic silver medallists Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang.

While injuries have hampered Satwik-Chirag’s 2025 campaign and contributed to a title drought, the pair still remains India’s strongest hope to extend the country’s long-standing medal streak at the Worlds.

In mixed doubles, world No. 17 Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto received an opening-round bye. The duo must make a special effort to win India’s first medal in the discipline.

The women’s doubles draw pits Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda against Bulgaria’s Gabriela Stoeva and Stefani Stoeva, while Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra will face French duo Margot Lambert and Camille Pognante in the first round.

--IANS

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