Unnati Hooda, Lakshya Sen begin BWF World Championships 2026 campaign

Unnati Hooda opens her maiden BWF World Championships campaign against Myanmar's Thet Htar Thuzar in the women's singles first round at the Indira Gandhi Arena in New Delhi on Tuesday, August 18. The match is scheduled for 12:20pm. Hooda holds a 1-0 head-to-head record against Thuzar, having beaten her in the 2023 Abu Dhabi Masters semifinals 21-18, 21-12.

Lakshya Sen, the 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, begins his bid for a second medal against Austria's Collins Valentine Filimon in the men's singles first round, starting at 6:10pm. A win could set up a second-round meeting with either Ahmed Elgamal of Egypt or Israel's Daniil Dubovenko, with a potential pre-quarterfinal against second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand.

Two Indian mixed doubles pairs, Rohan Kapoor/Ruthvika Gadde and Ashith Surya/Amrutha Pramuthesh, also play their first-round matches on Day 2. In women's doubles, Kavipriya Selvam/Simran Singhi face Bulgaria's Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva, while Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand meet USA's Lauren Lam/Allison Quynh Lee. Live telecast in India is on Sports18, with streaming on JioHotstar.