​Perfect host: On India as host of the 2026 BWF World Championships

The 2026 BWF World Championships in New Delhi marked the rise of France as an on-court force and of India as a capable host. Alex Lanier’s triumph in singles, and Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue’s in mixed doubles, were the first golds in France’s history. It was just over three months ago that the European nation finished a worthy runner-up to China in the Thomas Cup, the de facto World Cup in badminton. The Worlds success has established France as a serious contender in a sport otherwise dominated by Asian countries. In fact, Lanier is just the third non-Asian this century — after Spain’s Carolina Marin and Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen — to win the singles gold at the World Championships. The 21-year-old did that at a spruced-up Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, which was in the dock earlier in January when pigeons and monkeys intruded into the arena during the India Open. The massive facelift ensured that the marquee event’s return to India after 17 years would be long remembered. An Se-Young will also go back with happy memories after reclaiming the women’s singles crown from three-time titlist Akane Yamaguchi. The victory extended the 24-year-old reigning Olympic champion’s stellar 2026, during which she has won an Uber Cup gold medal, and the individual and team trophies at the Badminton Asia Championships.

For India, the competition was the 12th straight edition where it secured at least one medal, with Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly bagging a bronze in women’s doubles. The performance is the latest in a series of good outcomes for Indian badminton after an ordinary 2025, where Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s World Championships doubles bronze was the best result. This year, Lakshya Sen reached the All England Open final, and Ayush Shetty at the Badminton Asia Championships. P.V. Sindhu’s victory at the Japan Open Super 750 last month was only her second Tour title in the last four years, and there were also triumphs for Satwiksairaj and Chirag at Singapore Open Super 750, and for Devika Sihag, Tanvi Sharma and Ashmita Chaliha at the Super 300 level. Yet, the feeling is unmistakable that India should have done better at a home World Championships, with Lakshya’s second-round defeat to the unheralded American teenager Garret Tan the most disappointing. There is no questioning the 25-year-old’s capability; he is a World Championships bronze medallist, a two-time All England finalist and finished an agonising fourth at the Paris 2024 Olympics. But no Indian men’s singles player has won an elite BWF Super 1000-level title since K. Srikanth in 2017. A swift end to this drought is essential for the overall health of the sport.