Indian medallists at BWF World Championships: When PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal made their mark

PV Sindhu is the most successful Indian with five medals and is the only one to become a world champion. Kidambi Srikanth leads the Indian men with a silver.

7 minBy Rahul Venkat
PV Sindhu at BWF World Championships.
(Getty Images)

The BWF World Championships ranks among the most prestigious events in badminton, alongside the Olympics and the All England Open.

First held in 1977, the world badminton championships were held every three years until 1983 and then became a biennial event till 2005.

Since then, it was held every year except in an Olympic year. The 2021 edition was the first time that an Olympics and world championships were held in the same year after Tokyo 2020 was postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eleven Indian badminton players have won 14 medals at the BWF World Championships over the years, with only PV Sindhu going on to become a world champion. Sindhu won gold in 2019.

Indian medallists at the badminton world championships.

PV Sindhu - Five medals in women’s singles

PV Sindhu is the most successful Indian badminton player at the BWF World Championships, having won an incredible five medals - one gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

The five medals are a record PV Sindhu shares with two-time Olympic champion Zhang Ning of the People's Republic of China.

Her first world championship medal came in 2013 as an 18-year-old. PV Sindhu beat Olympic medallist Wang Yihan and former world No. 1 Wang Shixian of China en route to the bronze medal. The Indian lost to eventual champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in the semis.

PV Sindhu won another bronze in 2014 and reached her first world championship final in 2017. In an epic final, she lost to old rival Nozomi Okuhara of Japan to win the silver medal.

PV Sindhu made the final again in 2018, this time falling to another old foe Carolina Marin of Spain to win silver.

The Indian finally broke the jinx in 2019 - PV Sindhu’s third consecutive world championship final - beating Okuhara in 38 minutes to become the first Indian to win the world badminton championship.

Saina Nehwal - Two medals in women’s singles

India’s first Olympic badminton medallist Saina Nehwal has two medals at the BWF World Championships - a silver and a bronze.

Her first medal came in 2015, a year in which she rose to become world No. 1 in women’s singles - the first Indian to do so.

Seeded second at the world championships, Saina Nehwal beat Cheung Ngan Yi, Sayaka Takahashi, Wang Yihan and Lindaweni Fanetri to make the final against top seed and then-reigning champion Carolina Marin.

Despite her best efforts, Saina Nehwal lost to Carolina Marin in straight games as the Spaniard retained her title.

The 2017 world championships was the first time that two Indian shuttlers were on the podium in a single edition. With PV Sindhu claiming silver, Saina Nehwal won bronze after reaching the semi-finals.

Saina Nehwal comfortably won her matches until the semis, where she lost to eventual winner Nozomi Okuhara to end up with bronze. It remains Saina’s last world championship medal to date.

Prakash Padukone - One medal in men’s singles

Like many firsts for Indian badminton, Prakash Padukone was also the first Indian to win a medal at the BWF World Championships, winning bronze in 1983.

He would remain the only Indian with a badminton world championship medal for 28 years.

Prakash Padukone had an easy run, as he dropped just 27 points in three matches till the semis.

In the last four, Prakash Padukone won the first game but went on to lose to Indonesia’s Icuk Sugiarto and ended up with the bronze medal.

Sugiarto went on to beat legendary compatriot Liem Swie King in the final to win gold.

B Sai Praneeth - One medal in men’s singles

Only the second Indian man to win a world championship medal, B Sai Praneeth won bronze in the 2019 edition after making it to the semis.

A promising player who had steadily risen up the ranks, B Sai Praneeth beat Canada’s Jason Anthony Ho-Shue, Republic of Korea's Lee Dong-keun and Indonesians Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (a Tokyo 2020 bronze-medallist) and Jonatan Christie (the 2018 Asian Games champion) en route to the semis.

However, he was drawn against top seed Kento Momota of Japan in the last four and could not continue his giant-killing run, falling to the eventual champion and ending with the bronze medal.

Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa - One medal in women’s doubles

The only Indian doubles pair to win a badminton world championship medal, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa enjoyed a dream run in the 2011 edition, which won them a bronze.

Unseeded for the event, Jwala-Ashwini caused a big upset in the second round as they beat second seeds Cheng Wen-hsing and Chien Yu-chin of Taiwan in straight games.

The Indians then got the better of 11th seeds Isis Poon Lok Yan and Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong in the third round and 12th seeds Vita Marissa and Nadya Melati of Indonesia in the quarter-finals, beating both pairs in three games each.

Jwala and Ashwini’s run came to an end in the semis as fifth-seeded Chinese pair Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei beat them in straight games but the pair became the first Indians to win a world championship medal since 1983.

Kidambi Srikanth - One medal in men’s singles

Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth won a silver medal after making it to the finals of the 2021 BWF World Championships, courtesy a hard-fought win over compatriot Lakshya Sen.

Kidambi Srikanth, who has been a rejuvenated player since missing Tokyo 2020, beat Pablo Abian, came back from a game down against 2018 Youth Olympics champion Li Shi Feng and won in straight games against Lu Guang Zu before dominating Caljouw.

Kidambi Srikanth thus became the first Indian to reach the men's singles final at the world championships. In the final, the Indian lost 21-15, 22-20 to Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.

Lakshya Sen - One medal in men’s singles

A 20-year-old tipped for big things, Lakshya Sen arguably won his most impressive medal after making it to the semi-finals of the 2021 BWF World Championships.

The 2018 Youth Olympics silver-medallist got a bye in the opening round and then outlasted 15th seed Kenta Nishimoto in a hugely impressive three-game win.

He then easily beat the fourth-placed finisher at Tokyo 2020 Kevin Cordon and then won another high-intensity three-game match against Zhao Jun Peng, where he saved a match point to make his way to the semi-finals.

Lakshya Sen fell to Kidambi Srikanth in the semis but assured himself a bronze medal, becoming the fourth Indian man to win a badminton world championship medal.

Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy - One medal in men's doubles

Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy became the first Indian pair to win a medal in the men’s doubles event at the world badminton championships. The duo settled for a bronze in Tokyo in 2022.

The Indian badminton players, ranked seventh at the time, lost 20-22, 21-18, 21-16 to Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in 77 minutes in the semi-finals. It was the Indian pair’s sixth straight loss to the Malaysian duo.

Along the way, Chirag-Sawtwik beat defending world champions and second seeds Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi 24-22, 15-21, 21-14 in a three-game thriller in the quarters.

It was India’s second doubles medal at the championships after the women’s bronze in 2011.

HS Prannoy - One medal in men's singles

HS Prannoy assured himself a medal at the 2023 BWF World Championships after he stunned Olympic champion and world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in three games in the quarter-finals. Prannoy, however, lost to Thailand's Kunalvut Vitidsarn in the semi-finals to settle for a bronze medal.

Prannoy had earlier upset 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the round of 16. The Indian defeated Indonesia’s Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo and Finland’s Kalle Koljonen in his first two matches.

Indian medallists at badminton world championships