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“The men’s singles opener everyone is talking about…” If it wasn’t already by default the most exciting opening round match of the World Championships, the Badminton World Federation social media account ensured Shi Yu Qi vs Lakshya Sen got the top billing. On Wednesday, after the draws were made for the 2025 Paris BWF World Championships, the standout fixture was China’s top seed taking on India’s best finisher at the very venue of the Olympic Games last year.
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For contrasting reasons, both Shi and Lakshya would not want to revisit Paris 2024 at the Adidas Arena (Porte de La Chapelle Arena for the duration of the Olympics). The Chinese star was the top seed and was expected to challenge Viktor Axelsen’s bid for the double, but he fell by the wayside at the quarterfinals stage, losing to Kunlavut Vitidsarn. Lakshya, technically, punched above his weight, but the credibility of the fourth-place finish was overshadowed by a sense of missed opportunities for winning a medal. He led in the semifinal and bronze medal match, both he went on to lose.
Shi, however, has been in good form, winning three Super 1000 titles this season and reclaiming the World No. 1 ranking. But for Lakshya, the Paris result has seemingly followed him around like a bad hangover that he can’t seem to shake off. There have been some flashes of brilliance but consistency has deserted him, and the niggles haven’t helped. Lakshya trails 1-3 against Shi, the solitary win coming at the Asian Games team event final in the Chinese backyard in Hangzhou. The last time they met, at the Indonesia Open 2025, Lakshya overcame a serious slump mid-match to force a decider, had a lead in Game 3 but couldn’t convert, losing 11-21, 22-20, 15-21.
In the bottom half, the draw hasn’t been easier for the 2023 bronze medallist HS Prannoy, as he is set to take on second seed Anders Antonsen, who will be Denmark’s big hope in the continued absence of Axelsen.
Potential Paris rematch
Based on current form, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty easily carry India’s best hope of a podium finish, but a combination of sliding down the rankings and the very nature of men’s doubles being a wide-open discipline has seen them receive a tough draw too. Seeded 9th, they start with an opening-round bye and would either face fellow Indians Hariharan Amsakarunan-Ruben Kumar or Liu Kuang Heng and Yang Po Han of Chinese Taipei in the second round.
A couple of potential blockbusters await in their quarter of the draw. A potential round of 16 fixture pits Satwik-Chirag against fellow former World No 1s Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang, now world No 6. Liang-Wang have had a somewhat similar season to Satwik-Chirag (having played a few more matches), but when they met at the Japan Open, they overcame the Indians in straight games, extending their record to 6-2. In case Satwik-Chirag pair pulls one over against the Chinese duo that have caused them a fair amount of strife, they face their nemeses after that.
A year ago in the Olympics, Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik had ended the Indians’ medal hope in the quarterfinals. A potential rematch looms. The Malaysians hold an enviable 11-3 record against SatChi, and have won the last three meetings. They too have a tricky round of 16 against Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Kittinupong Kedren but in their current form, they will be favourites to progress.
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India’s most successful player in the history of the World Championships, five-time medallist and former winner PV Sindhu has historically had a strong record against Chinese players at the event. But given her form in 2025, it would be a mammoth ask for her to overcome second seed Wang Zhi Yi, whom she could face in the quarterfinals. The Indian star begins her campaign against Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova and potentially faces Malaysia’s Letshanaa Karupathevan in the second round.
India have won at least one medal at every BWF World Championships since 2011. Given their overall struggles on tour this year, the odds of that streak extending seem rather slim.
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