Badminton World Championships: India stars set for tricky games in Round of 16

BWF World Championships: India are set for some really tricky games in the Badminton World Championships on August 20. Ayush Shetty, PV Sindhu face their toughest opponents yet, while Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty play their first game.BWF World Championships: India's schedule on August 20. (PTI Photo)India face their toughest test yet, as several top players take to the court at the Badminton World Championships on August 20, Thursday. The hosts endured a heartbreaking outing on August 19, when two of India's best players, Lakshya Sen and Unnati Hooda, were knocked out of the tournament.Both Lakshya and Unnati were stretched to gruelling three-game matches at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, and ended up going down against USA's Garret Tan and Canada's Michelle Li respectively.While Lakshya and Unnati were knocked out, India had favourable results from Ayush Shetty and PV Sindhu, who marched their way into the third round of the competition. They face their toughest test yet in the tournament, as they take on two of the top players on the badminton circuit.On that note, here's India's schedule at the BWF World Championships today:Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand vs Rin Iwanaga/Kie Nakanishi (7)Dhruv Kapila/Tanisha Crasto (15) vs Guo Xin Wa/Chen Fang Hui (6)Ayush Shetty vs Alwi Farhan (11)PV Sindhu (9) vs Wang Zhi Yi (3)Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (5) vs Junaidi Arif/Yap Roy King BWF World Championships: India Match Timings (Tentative)Treesa/Gopichand vs Rin/Kie: 11:20 am (Court 1)Kapila/Crasto vs Guo/Chen: 1:50 pm (Court 2)Ayush vs Alwi: 4:20 pm (Court 1)Sindhu vs Wang: 5:10 pm (Court 1)Satwik/Chirag vs Arif/Yap: 6:00 pm (Court 1)India have to punch much above their weight today. Every single Indian player, barring the men's doubles team of Satwik-Chirag, are playing higher-ranked opponents.The day will start with the women's doubles event featuring Treesa/Gopichand, who will be facing Japan's World No. 7 Rin/Kie. In contrast, Treesa and Gayatri are ranked 39th in the world. Having said that, the Indian duo were sensational in their last game and produced some powerful attacking play, which will give them a lot of confidence going into the Round of 16 (pre-quarterfinals). Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, India's only mixed doubles line-up today, face China's World No. 6 Guo/Chen in the only Court 2 event today. All other India matches are on Court 1.India have a block of matches in the second half of the event, in Court 1, where Ayush Shetty, PV Sindhu and Satwik-Chirag play back-to-back matches.AYUSH SHETTY FACES IN-FORM ALWI FARHANIndia's only men's singles player remaining in the competition, Ayush Shetty, will face the tricky Alwi Farhan. Alwi is ranked 12th in the world, 10 positions above Ayush, and the Indonesian leads Ayush 4-3 in their head-to-head clashes.The two players have faced each other three times this year, with Alwi leading 2-1 against Ayush. The Indian, however, beat him in the most recent competition, in July, when they met at the China Open. Ayush started by winning the first game 21-17, lost the second terribly 5-21, and then staged a composed 21-17 win against Alwi.Alwi is rapid on the court and Ayush will have to prepare well to beat the Indonesian star, who has won his last two matches at the BWF Worlds in less than 45 minutes.SINDHU FACES FAMILIAR FOE WANG ZHI YIIndia's top women's shuttler, seeded 9th in the competition, PV Sindhu, faces a familiar foe, China's Wang Zhi Yi, in her third round.Wang Zhi Yi is ranked 3rd, but she has a terrible record against Sindhu's style of play. The Indian shuttler, known for her big-game ability at the World Championships, has beaten the Chinese player 9 out of 12 times in her career. Courtesy: PTI While history is on her side, Sindhu herself knows that things are not going to be easy."It's obviously not going to be an easy match. When we play against top athletes, we can't expect easy matches or easy points. We have to be prepared for long matches, and I'm ready for it. I've played against Wang Zhiyi a lot of times, so we know each other's games. I just need to give my best and play my game," the Indian shuttler said after her win against Canada's Weng Yu Zhang."Pressure and expectations will always be there. When you've played an athlete multiple times, you both know each other's games. If Plan A or Plan B works, well and good. But you need to have the capability to adapt if things don't go in your favour. Making mistakes is completely fine, but coming back immediately on the next point, understanding your mistakes," she added.SATWIK-CHIRAG PLAY FIRST MATCHIndia's top-ranked men's doubles team, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, will play their first match of the tournament today.Satwik-Chirag had received a bye in the first round, a walkover in the second round, and make their debut in the championships straight into the Round of 16. They are up against Malaysia's Junaidi Arif and Yap Roy King, against whom they have never lost in the four times they have met.Arif and Yap are not in good form themselves, but come into the match having played two games at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, which has tricky conditions on one side of the court.Satwik-Chirag's match-readiness is certainly likely to be tested today.All of India's matches today are set to be televised on Star Sports Network and will be livestreamed on JioStar.- EndsPublished By: Kingshuk KusariPublished On: Aug 20, 2026 10:49 IST