BWF World Championships 2026: Sindhu storms into second round on perfect opening day for India
India No. 1 P. V. Sindhu is competing in the 10th World Championship of her decorated career but for the first time in front of home fans in New Delhi. | Photo Credit: AP
India No. 1 P. V. Sindhu is competing in the 10th World Championship of her decorated career but for the first time in front of home fans in New Delhi. | Photo Credit: AP
Former champion P. V. Sindhu registered a comfortable straight-games win over inexperienced Irish shuttler Sophia Noble in the opening round of the BWF Badminton World Championships at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Monday.
Sindhu, a five-time medallist, did not have to break a sweat in her 21-7, 21-11 victory over world championships debutant Noble in a match which lasted only 29 minutes.
The 21-year-old Noble, ranked 141st in the world, was no match for World No. 9 Sindhu who began the 10th World Championship campaign of her decorated career. The Indian stormed to an 8-0 lead in the first game and never looked back.
Noble gave a better account of herself in the second essay as she trailed by just three points at the mid-game interval. However, the 31-year-old Sindhu was just too strong for the Irish player as the Indian won 10 of the next 13 points to seal the deal.
Sindhu will next face Canadian World No. 49 Wen Yu Zhang in the round of 32.
Earlier in the day, the women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, and the men’s doubles duo of M.R. Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan also booked their spots in the second round.
Treesa-Gayatri took down Spain’s Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez 21-9, 21-13 to set up a round of 32 clash with 16th-seeded American duo of Lauren Lam and Allison Quynh Lee.
Arjun-Hariharan led Scott Guildea and Paul Reynolds 21-16, 6-4 when the Irish duo withdrew from the fixture due to an injury. The 15th-seeded Korean pair of Kang Min Hyuk and Ki Dong Ju will be their next opponent.
Published on Aug 17, 2026
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