NEW DELHI: As the BWF World Championship are returning to Indian shores after a gap of 17 years, with the world’s best players looking forward to getting their hands on the coveted title, the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium is all decked up to witness world badminton’s biggest extravaganza.
India is hosting the world championships for the first time since 2009 as 64 women and men each, along with 48 pairs in the three doubles, fight for top honours over the seven days in the national capital.
The action begins on Monday, with the matches in the top half of men’s and women’s singles draws taking place on the opening day.
India marked their maiden in 1983 when Prakash Padukone bagged a bronze. Since 2011, India have won at least one medal at every single edition of the BWF World Championships, amassing 14 medals across 11 consecutive editions, a record in consistency matched only by China. Out of those 15 medals, one medal was won prior to 2009, when India hosted the World Championships for the first time.
In the 2026 edition, one of the most intriguing first-round singles match-ups could feature defending champion and top seed Shi Yuqi of China against India’s rising star Ayush Shetty.
Former champion PV Sindhu, who jointly holds the record for most Worlds medals (5) in women's singles, is in a pursuit of her record-breaking sixth world championships medal.
When and Where BWF World Championships 2026 is taking place?
The BWF World Championships 2026 will be running from August 17 to 23 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.
How to watch live BWF World Championships 2026 in India
The BWF World Championships 2026 will be broadcast live on Sports18 and streamed via JioCinema in India.
Worldwide streaming will be provided by BWF TV, the official YouTube channel of the Badminton World Federation, and Olympics.com.
India squad-
Men's singles: Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty
Women's singles: PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda
Men's doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty, Hariharan Amsakarunan/MR Arjun
Women's doubles: Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand Pullela, Kavipriya Selvam/Simran Singhi
Mixed doubles: Dhruv Kapila/Tanisha Crasto, Rohan Kapoor/Ruthvika Shivani Gadde (Canada)
BWF World Championships 2026: Full schedule
August 17: First round (all disciplines) 9:00
August 18 - First/second round 9:00
August 19: Second round 9:00
August 20: Round of 16 round 10:30
August 21: Quarter-finals 10:30
August 22: Semi-finals 10:30
August 23- Finals 13:00
