BWF World Championships begin today with PV Sindhu-Ayush Shetty: Can India turn home advantage into badminton glory?

The wait is over. The world's best badminton players are in New Delhi, the courts are ready and India's biggest stars are about to walk into the most important tournament of the year. The BWF World Championships 2026 begin today.

The 30th edition of badminton's biggest individual tournament gets underway at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium and runs until August 23. India has two entries in each of the five disciplines, with four Indian entries seeded, according to ESPN's tournament preview.

And this time, the home crowd isn't simply there to watch. It has plenty to hope for.

Sindhu has history within reach

Start with PV Sindhu. The former world champion is the ninth seed and begins her campaign today against Ireland's Sophia Noble. But the opening-round match is only the beginning of a much bigger story. Sindhu is chasing a record sixth World Championships medal. She has already won five — including gold in 2019 — and another podium finish would move her level with China's Zhang Ning as the most decorated women's singles player in World Championships history.

There is also a reason for optimism. Sindhu arrives in Delhi after winning the Japan Open last month, becoming the first Indian to claim the women's singles title there. Reuters reported that the victory ended a long wait for a major title and gave her valuable momentum ahead of the World Championships. Now comes the bigger test.

Can she turn that momentum into another medal on home soil?

Sindhu herself has acknowledged that there is pressure. But perhaps that is inevitable when you have spent more than a decade carrying Indian badminton's biggest expectations.

Then comes the day's biggest test

If Sindhu has history to chase, Ayush Shetty has a mountain to climb. The 21-year-old Indian makes his World Championships debut today. And his first opponent? Shi Yuqi. The Chinese star is the defending world champion and the top seed. It is about as difficult an introduction to the World Championships as Shetty could have imagined. He has already shown that he belongs at this level, winning silver at the Asian Championships earlier this year. But now he faces the player who currently sits at the very top of men's singles. The match is expected in the evening.

For Shetty, though, there is something liberating about the challenge. Nobody expects an easy victory. Everyone expects a fight.

India's challenge is bigger than two names

Look beyond Sindhu and Shetty and the Indian campaign gets even more interesting. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the country's leading men's doubles pair, are seeded fifth. Lakshya Sen is the 14th seed in men's singles. India also has representation across all five disciplines, a sign of how much the country's badminton ecosystem has expanded.

There are four Indian debutants this year: Ayush Shetty, Unnati Hooda, Simran Singhi and Kavipriya Selvam. For them, this isn't about defending a legacy. It is about starting one. A tournament that feels different in Delhi There is another reason this World Championships feels significant. India isn't merely hosting the tournament. The country has become one of badminton's major powers.

Indian players have won at least one medal at every World Championships since 2011. Sindhu has become a global superstar. Lakshya Sen has already stood on a World Championships podium. Satwik and Chirag have become one of the world's most formidable men's doubles combinations. The expectations have changed with the results. And that means the home crowd will arrive wanting more than a good showing. It wants medals.

Even the venue has been prepared for battle

Organisers have gone to unusual lengths to make sure nothing gets in the way. Literally. Reuters reported before the tournament that organisers hired workers capable of mimicking langur calls to keep rhesus monkeys away from the venue. The unusual measure followed previous disruptions involving animals at badminton events in Delhi. Pigeons have also been a concern, prompting organisers to take preventive measures. The BWF, meanwhile, has expressed satisfaction with the preparations. The courts are ready. The shuttlers are ready. Now comes the part that cannot be rehearsed.

Today, India gets its first answers

Sindhu walks onto court carrying experience, expectations and the possibility of another piece of history. Shetty walks on carrying something different: the excitement of a first World Championships and perhaps the most difficult opponent he could have drawn. Around them are established names, emerging players and a home crowd waiting to see how far Indian badminton can go. The World Championships begin today. And by the time the lights go down in Delhi tonight, India may already have learned something about the week ahead.

Can the old champion make history? Can the new challenger shock the world champion? And can home advantage turn India's medal hopes into something much bigger? The answers begin on the court today.