PV Sindhu will begin her BWF World Championships 2026 campaign in New Delhi on Monday with the opportunity to become the first badminton player to win six medals at the marquee event.
The former world champion already owns five medals – one gold, two silver and two bronze – and another podium finish at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium would take her clear of People Republic of China’s Lin Dan and Zhao Yunlei, who also won five.
“I would say each win or medal gave me a different kind of experience,” PV Sindhu said ahead of the tournament. “The transition has been in such a way that it is wonderful. Getting a medal itself is an amazing moment.”
The 31-year-old heads into the World Badminton Championships with renewed confidence after ending a nearly two-year title drought by winning the Japan Open Super 750 in July.
“I think physically and mentally it has been quite good. I am able to see the changes in terms of my game and my movement,” Sindhu said. “I am happy it is going in the right way.”
Sindhu’s last BWF World Championships medal came in 2019, when she became the first Indian to win the singles title. Now the ninth seed, the Indian badminton ace believes she remains capable of competing for another in New Delhi.
“This World Championships is very special for me because it is happening in India. I haven’t won a medal in the championships for seven years but my confidence has received a boost after the Japan Open win and I am hopeful of winning one more medal here,” said Sindhu, who watched the 2009 edition from the stands in Hyderabad.
Her return to form comes at an opportune time, with the World Championships returning to India after a 17-year gap.
Sindhu will open against world No. 141 Sofia Nobel of Ireland in the round of 64. Should she progress through the early rounds, world No. 3 Wang Zhi Yi of China could await in the pre-quarterfinals, followed by a potential quarter-final against sixth seed Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia.
But rather than look too far into the draw or the possibility of a record sixth medal, Sindhu is focusing on what she can control.
“I just have to go out there and put my best out there irrespective of the result,” she said. “The hunger towards the game hasn’t changed. I know it is in me and I can still do it.
“I am much more experienced and stronger than my first World Championships.”
Playing a World Championships at home will inevitably bring expectations. Sindhu acknowledged the pressure but intends to embrace it.
“There will be butterflies because I don’t deny that there is no pressure, there is pressure,” Sindhu said. “There is nothing to lose, I just want to give my best. I have trained hard and will just try to give my best on the court.”
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