M R Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan opened their BWF World Championships 2025 campaign with a commanding first-round victory over Ireland's Scott Guildea and Paul Reynolds, winning 21-16, 6-4 (retired) at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Monday, 17 August. But for Arjun, the scoreline was only part of the story — his parents were watching him play live for the first time in roughly 13 years.

A Moment 13 Years in the Making

'My parents and my wife are here. My parents are watching me live probably after 13 years,' Arjun said after the match. The emotion behind those words runs deep: his father had once travelled across the country accompanying him to junior tournaments, yet the two had been separated from courtside moments for over a decade.

Arjun explained the long gap candidly. 'My dad used to take me around for all my junior matches at probably 8, but after that, I had the opinion that I would love playing alone or travelling alone, because there are obviously opinions from your parents and from coaches which might not go in the right direction when it comes to a player,' he said. He added that his father had never stopped following his career from afar — calling after matches, watching broadcasts — but this was different. 'Now he's there,' Arjun said simply.

Home Crowd Delivers an Unexpected Boost

The Indian pair had braced for the usual nerves of a World Championship opener, but the atmosphere inside the arena caught them off guard — in the best possible way. Fans had turned out in significant numbers even for the first session of the tournament.

'In the first round of the World Championship, we didn't expect so many people to come out and support us, but as soon as we entered the main arena, we heard a lot of cheering when our names were announced, which gave us an extra boost and extra energy. It definitely helped,' Arjun said. Hariharan echoed the sentiment: 'The crowd also gave us more confidence. Whenever we were down, the crowd was cheering us on, and they were more confident.'

How the Match Unfolded

The Indians made a decisive start in the first game, capitalising on the opening exchanges to build a cushion that proved difficult to overturn. 'Coming into the first round of the World Championships, the conditions can be a little dicey, with little drifts here and there. It's obviously very important to earn those first four points. If it had gone the other way, pressure would have built up, and that would have cost us, but I feel we took advantage of those first few points, which helped us,' Arjun said.

The pair converted that early momentum into a 21-16 first-game win. In the second game, they were leading 6-4 when the Irish pair were forced to retire due to injury, ending the contest ahead of schedule.

Court Conditions and the Home Advantage Question

Playing a World Championship on home soil inevitably invites comparisons with conditions encountered abroad. Arjun felt the New Delhi courts were broadly comparable to those seen on the international circuit this season, including the previous World Championships in Paris. 'To play at home, obviously everybody asks the same question, and again I feel every athlete would give the same answer, because it's an added advantage and an extra energy for sure,' he said.

Hariharan noted that the shuttle was moving largely front-to-back rather than with the side drift the pair had anticipated. 'One side is a little fast, the other a little slow. Not side drift — but it's okay. Almost every country is the same because of the air conditioning,' he said.

India's Campaign Gets Under Way

The victory handed India a winning start to its home World Championships, which run at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium from 17 to 23 August. This is the tournament's first return to Indian soil since 2009, making the home-crowd factor a recurring theme that the Indian contingent will hope to harness deep into the draw.