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India's Medal Hopes Rest on Two Doubles Pairs
21 Aug
Summary
- Two Indian doubles pairs are one win from BWF World Championships medal.
- Both pairs face seeded Chinese opponents in crucial quarter-finals.
- India's singles campaign ended with losses for PV Sindhu and Ayush Shetty.
As the BWF World Championships 2026 enters its fifth day in New Delhi on Friday, August 21, India's medal aspirations rest solely on two dynamic doubles pairings. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, in the women's doubles, are set to compete against China's fourth-seeded pair, Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shuxian, in a quarter-final match scheduled for 1:50 PM IST. A victory here would propel them to the semi-finals, guaranteeing India a medal.
Later in the day, the fifth-seeded men's doubles duo, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, will face their own challenge against China's third seeds, Lian Wei Keng and Wang Cheng, at 6:00 PM IST. This pair recently battled back from a game down to win their previous match, showcasing their resilience as they aim for a medal-winning semi-final spot.
India's singles competition concluded on Day 4 with the departures of PV Sindhu and Ayush Shetty. Sindhu narrowly lost to China's Wang Zhi Yi in a three-game thriller, while Shetty was defeated in straight games by Indonesia's Alwi Farhan. With the singles players out, the national focus has firmly shifted to the remaining doubles teams.
