Indian shuttler Unnati Hooda opened her BWF World Championships 2025 campaign with a 22-20, 21-16 victory over Myanmar's Thet Htar Thuzar in the first round at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday, 18 August. The 18-year-old recovered from a tense opening game and a mid-match wobble to advance comfortably.

How the Match Unfolded

The first game was a closely contested affair that lasted 21 minutes, with Hooda eventually edging it 22-20. She acknowledged the early exchanges were spent reading the court conditions, particularly the drift that varied noticeably between the two sides of the arena.

In the second game, Hooda raced to an 11-1 lead after the change of ends, appearing set for a straightforward finish. She then began experimenting with her strokes, taking advantage of the cushion — a decision that briefly backfired as Thet clawed back to 16-20 before Hooda closed out the contest.

Coach Steps In at a Critical Moment

Hooda's coach intervened during the second game's closing stages, urging her to abandon the experimentation and refocus on winning. Recounting the exchange in the mixed zone after the match, Hooda said, 'Not as such, but with that such lead I was in between trying a few of my strokes also, because I had so much lead, so he also said like you can try few of your strokes, but then I made some silly errors also, then he also like strictly said no, no, just now focus and play.'

The intervention had the desired effect, with Hooda regaining her composure to secure the win without allowing Thet any further inroads.

Adapting to Court Conditions

Hooda credited her improved performance in the second game to a better understanding of how the drift was affecting play on each side of the court. 'From the first game that I played there was like my attack was not going so good, so I changed my plan and did like I used some tosses and all that,' she explained, adding that adapting her tactics allowed her to dominate once she had a clearer read on the conditions.

When asked whether the drift contributed to her errors late in the first game, Hooda was candid, attributing the mistakes to her own execution rather than the conditions: 'No, I feel like that was little bit of my hand mistakes.'

What Comes Next

The win was Hooda's second successive victory over Thet and sets up a significantly more demanding second-round clash. She will next face 13th seed Michelle Li of Canada, who defeated Chinese Taipei's P. Chiu 22-20, 21-12 in her opener.

Hooda said the match gave her a useful feel for the court, though she was careful not to assume conditions would remain identical. 'Every match will be a different match, tomorrow I will be playing against Michelle (Li), so I will prepare well for tomorrow's match,' she said, also thanking the home crowd for their support at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. A win over Li would mark a significant statement of intent for the young Indian at her home World Championships.