Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yufei of China and defending champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan both progressed to the women's singles second round of the 2026 BWF World Championships in New Delhi on Tuesday, 18 August, keeping their title bids firmly on track.

Chen Yufei Rallies from a Game Down

Fourth-seeded Chen Yufei needed three games to see off Lo Sin Yan Happy of Hong Kong, China, winning 18-21, 21-8, 21-11 after a slow start. The Olympic champion made a decisive mid-match adjustment to turn the contest around.

'I made some adjustments after the first game, such as making myself more excited and moving faster on the court,' Chen said. She added that winning the title was only one of her goals, with learning and making progress through competitions equally important to her.

Chen will next face Ukraine's Polina Buhrova, who edged past Prakriti Bharath of the UAE 21-13, 20-22, 21-14 to advance.

Yamaguchi Breezes Through, Okuhara Also Advances

Second-seeded Yamaguchi was in dominant form, dismissing Nguyen Thuy Linh of Vietnam 21-12, 21-10 in straight games. Fellow Japanese shuttler Nozomi Okuhara also made it through, securing a hard-fought 2-1 win over Ozge Bayrak of Turkey.

Men's Singles: Christie Wins, Popov Stunned

On the men's side, Indonesia's Jonatan Christie advanced with a straight-games win over Germany's Matthias Kicklitz. In a major upset, fifth-seeded Christo Popov of France was knocked out by Japan's Kenta Nishimoto 21-17, 21-19 — the second seeding casualty of the tournament.

Doubles Action and Monday's Shock Exit

In women's doubles, top seeds Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning of China needed just 35 minutes to dispatch Pham Thi Dieu Ly and Pham Thi Khanh of Vietnam 21-10, 21-11. Another Chinese pair, Jia Yifan and Zhang Shuxian, also won in straight games. In men's doubles, Malaysia's fourth-seeded pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik reached the last 16, beating Thailand's Peeratchai Sukphun and Pakkapon Teeraratsakul 15-21, 21-11, 21-18.

The biggest story of the tournament so far, however, came on Monday, when defending champion and world No. 1 Shi Yuqi of China suffered a stunning first-round exit at the hands of India's own Ayush Shetty. Shetty edged out the top seed 21-14, 13-21, 21-19 in a 73-minute thriller, handing the home crowd one of the tournament's most memorable moments. On the women's side on Monday, South Korea's An Se-young eliminated Bulgaria's Kaloyana Nalbantova 21-14, 21-13, while China's Wang Zhiyi — An's closest rival — dispatched Zhang Beiwen of the United States 21-12, 21-13 in just 36 minutes.

With the top half of the draw still largely intact, the New Delhi edition of the World Championships is shaping up for a compelling finish in both singles categories.