The BWF World Championship 2026 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi delivered a flurry of upsets on Thursday, 20 August, as China's Li Shifeng, Singapore's Loh Kean Yew — the 2021 world champion — and third seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia all crashed out in the Round of 16 of the men's singles draw. The day underscored the unpredictability of this year's tournament, with seedings proving little protection against in-form challengers.

Li Shifeng's Three-Game Exit

Eighth seed Li Shifeng of China squandered a first-game lead before bowing out to Japan's tenth seed Kodai Naraoka, 13-21, 23-21, 21-11. Li had looked in control in the opener but Naraoka clawed back emphatically to seal the tie in three. Notably, this exit comes after defending champion Shi Yuqi and Weng Hongyang had already been eliminated in earlier rounds, leaving China's men's singles campaign in disarray.

Loh Kean Yew and Christie Fall to Upsets

Former world champion Loh Kean Yew, seeded 13th, was beaten by seventh seed Victor Lai of Canada, 22-20, 21-18, in a match that never allowed Loh to find his best rhythm. In the day's other major upset, Denmark's Rasmus Gemke — unseeded — stunned third seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia 11-21, 21-13, 21-18, overturning a first-game deficit to advance to the quarterfinals.

PV Sindhu Bows Out in Women's Singles

India's P.V. Sindhu, seeded ninth, fought hard across 88 minutes but ultimately fell to third seed Wang Zhiyi of China, 21-11, 15-21, 21-17. Sindhu won the second game to level the contest but could not sustain the momentum in the decider. Former Olympic champion Chen Yufei of China also exited, beaten by Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong 15-21, 25-23, 21-17 in another three-game contest. Top seed An Se Young of South Korea and second seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan both advanced without drama.

Indian Doubles Pairs Show Promise

India's Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, seeded fifth in men's doubles, recovered from dropping the first game to defeat Malaysia's Junaidi Arif and Yap Roy King 21-23, 21-19, 21-17. In women's doubles, the Indian pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly defeated seventh-seeded Japanese pair Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi 21-16, 21-12. However, the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto fell to China's sixth seeds Guo Xinwa and Chen Fanghui, 21-16, 21-5.

China Dominates Doubles Draws

China's doubles contingent continued its strong run across all categories. In men's doubles, third seeds Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang survived a gruelling three-game thriller against Denmark's Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, winning 22-20, 8-21, 21-19. Top seeds Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning eased through in women's doubles, defeating Bulgarian sisters Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva 21-16, 21-18. In mixed doubles, top seeds Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping beat Japan's Yuta Watanabe and Mayu Taguchi 21-19, 21-18, with three other Chinese mixed pairs also booking quarterfinal berths. The quarterfinals are set to further test whether any nation can break China's stranglehold on the doubles disciplines.