New Delhi [India], August 19 (ANI): India's top-ranked men's doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, have advanced to the Round of 16 of the ongoing BWF World Championships 2026 after Scotland's Alexander Dunn and Adam Pringle conceded their match ahead of their scheduled tie on Wednesday.
Notably, the fifth-seeded Indian pair were set to start their BWF Worlds campaign after having received a first-round bye but the Scottish opponents pulled out of the scheduled contest.
In a social media post, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) said, "The Indian pair are through to the BWF World Championships 2026 pre-quarters after receiving a walkover."
Earlier in the day, the mixed doubles pairing of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila made it to the pre-quarterfinals of the Championships at New Delhi. Crasto and Kapila outclassed the pairing of Leong Iok Chon and Ng Weng Chi from Macau by 21-11, 21-11 in their round of 32 match.
Earlier, Lakshya Sen produced a commanding comeback to lead India's charge on Day 2 of the competition, defeating Austria's Collins Valentine Filimon in three games at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here on Tuesday.
Sen recovered from a slow start to beat Filimon 16-21, 21-8, 21-4 in 45 minutes and advance from the men's singles Round of 64.
In women's singles, Unnati Hooda also progressed after overcoming Myanmar's Thet Htar Thuzar 22-20, 21-16 in the opening round.Hooda was made to work hard in the opening game as the two shuttlers remained close throughout. The Indian held her nerve in the closing stages to take it 22-20 before gaining greater control in the second game and completing the victory in straight games.
India also enjoyed success in women's doubles, with Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand advancing to the Round of 16 after defeating American pair Lauren Lam and Allison Lee 21-15, 21-12.
The Indian duo, ranked 39th in the world, maintained control in both games and did not allow the Americans to build sustained pressure. Treesa and Gayatri stepped up their attacking play after taking the first game 21-15 and comfortably closed out the second 21-12.
However, India's other women's doubles pair, Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi, saw their campaign end in the Round of 32. The Indians were beaten 7-21, 14-21 by Bulgarian sisters Stefani Stoeva and Gabriela Stoeva.
Kavipriya and Simran had advanced after edging Spain's Nikol Carulla and Carmen Maria Jimenez 22-20, 21-14 in their opening match on Monday, but struggled to match the experienced Bulgarian pair in the next round.India's mixed doubles campaign also suffered two defeats.
Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh, last-minute reserve entrants, were involved in one of the day's most dramatic contests but eventually lost 16-21, 30-29, and 24-22 to Turkiye's Emre Sonmez and Yesemen Bektas.
Ruthvika Gadde and Rohan Kapoor also bowed out after a hard-fought three-game defeat to Canada's Crystal Lai and Jonathan Lai. The Indian pair won the opening game 22-20 but could not maintain the momentum, losing the next two 19-21, 17-21. (ANI)
