India’s medal hopes in the 2026 BWF World Championships suffered a major blow on the third day of action at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi as their singles participants were halved, with one player each in the men’s and women’s singles being knocked out, and Lakshya Sen and Unnati Hooda were knocked out of the competition in three-set thrillers.

Lakshya’s defeat was the big shock of the day, as it was among the biggest upsets in the competition. The 2021 bronze medalist, who is seeded 14th, lost to 18-year-old United States of America (USA) star Garret Tan in a three-set thriller, which lasted 73 minutes. He won the first set but could not consolidate the lead as the youngster made a comeback.

India’s teenage sensation Unnati put up a valiant display as her maiden World Championship came to an end. The 18-year-old also played a three-set cracking game against Canada’s Michelle Li. She dropped two match points in the deciding set.

PV Sindhu, Ayush Shetty

However, PV Sindhu continued her pursuit of a world-record sixth title with another straight-set victory to reach the third round in the Women’s Singles. After the historic win over Shi Yu Qi, Ayush Shetty proved his class again by thrashing Sri Lanka’s Dumindu Abeywickram.

Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s maiden outing in the tournament was delayed. The 2025 medalists were given a walkover as their opponents pulled out due to an injury. Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto kept India’s mixed doubles campaign alive.

Mixed Doubles: Dhruv Kapila / Tanisha Crasto beat Leong Iok Chong / Ng Weng Chi (Macau) 21-11, 21-11.

Men’s Singles: Lakshya Sen lost to Garret Tan (USA) 19-21, 21-19, 17-21.

Men’s Singles: Ayush Shetty beat Dumindu Abeywickrama (Sri Lanka) 21-8, 21-10.

Women’s Singles: PV Sindhu beat Wen Yu Zhang (Canada) 21-16, 21-17.

Men’s Doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy / Chirag Shetty received a walkover against Alexander Dunn / Adam Pringle (Scotland).

Women’s Singles: Unnati Hooda lost to Michelle Li (Canada) 11-21, 21-9, 21-23.