India’s Lakshya Sen and Unnati Hooda bow out early in the global tournament.

India’s two-time Olympic Games medallistPV Sindhu and giantkiller Ayush Shetty marched into the second round of the BWF World Championships 2026 being held at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Stadium on Wednesday.

PV Sindhu, seeded ninth, defeated Canada’s Zhang Wen Yu 21-16, 21-17 in women’s singles second round. Ayush Shetty needed just 26 minutes to pack off Sri Lanka’s Dumindu Abeywickrama 21-8, 21-10 to advance to the men’s singles pre-quarterfinals.

In the round of 16, PV Sindhu will face third seed Wang Zi Yi of China. Ayush Shetty will face Indonesia’s 11th seed Alwi Farhan in his next round.

Two-time world championships bronze medallist Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also advanced to the round of 16.

India’s Lakshya Sen lost to 18-year-old Garret Tan of USA 21-19, 19-21, 17-21. Unnati Hooda also lost to Michelle Li of Canada 21-11, 9-21, 21-23.

EOM