The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has officially announced that the BWF World Championships 2026 will take place in New Delhi, India, next August. The confirmation came during the closing ceremony of the 2025 edition held in Paris, bringing the world’s premier badminton competition back to India after a 17-year gap.
This will be India’s second time hosting the prestigious tournament, with the first being in 2009 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad. The upcoming event will also mark the return of the World Championships to Asia for the first time since 2018, when Nanjing, China, served as the host city.
Although India was awarded the hosting rights for the 2026 edition in 2021, New Delhi was officially confirmed as the venue following the conclusion of the 2025 event in Paris.
Organised annually by the BWF, except during Olympic years, the World Championships remain the most important event on the badminton calendar. The competition crowns world champions across singles, doubles, and mixed doubles categories, while also offering the highest number of ranking points available in the sport.
First introduced in 1977, the Badminton World Championships were initially held every three years until 1983, later becoming a biennial event until 2005. Since then, it has been staged annually, serving as the pinnacle of non-Olympic badminton competition.
India has built an impressive legacy at the World Championships over the past decade, winning at least one medal in every edition since 2011. In total, Indian shuttlers have earned 15 medals: one gold, four silver, and ten bronze.
The journey began with Prakash Padukone, who secured India’s first-ever World Championships medal — a bronze in 1983. Among modern stars, PV Sindhu stands as India’s most decorated player with five medals to her name: a historic gold in 2019, two silvers (2017, 2018), and two bronzes (2013, 2014).
Saina Nehwal contributed to the nation’s success with a silver in 2015 and a bronze in 2017, while Kidambi Srikanth became India’s only men’s singles silver medallist in 2021.
In doubles, India has seen limited but meaningful success. Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa claimed a bronze medal in women’s doubles at the London 2011 edition, which remains India’s only medal in that category.
More recently, the men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have added to India’s tally with two bronze medals — at Tokyo 2022 and Paris 2025 — strengthening India’s reputation as a rising force in the global badminton scene.
As anticipation builds for the 2026 event, fans across India and the world look forward to witnessing New Delhi take center stage in hosting one of badminton’s most prestigious tournaments. The return of the BWF World Championships to Indian soil is more than just a sporting milestone — it is a celebration of the nation’s growing stature in the world of badminton.
