The BWF World Championships 2026 in New Delhi from August 17 to 23 brings together the best badminton players in the world across five disciplines. Some are coming in as defending champions or Olympic gold medallists. Some are in the form of their lives. And some are young players who have just announced themselves on the world stage and are heading into this tournament with nothing to lose. Here is a close look at the top badminton players of 2026 who are going to define what happens at Indira Gandhi Arena over seven days.
Shi Yuqi: The World Number One With a Point to Prove
If there is one player at the BWF who carries the weight of expectation more than anyone else, it is Shi Yuqi of China. He is the current world number one in men's singles, ranked first with 105,967 points as of June 2, 2026. He has been at or near the top of the rankings for years, and his game is one of the most complete in men's badminton. His net play is sharp, his court coverage is exceptional, and his smash is one of the fastest on tour.
What makes New Delhi particularly important for Shi Yuqi is that a World Championship title has eluded him despite his dominance at the tour level. He has the quality. He has the consistency. August 2026, in front of a crowd that will respect him but not be rooting for him, is his opportunity to finally get the one result his career needs. He beat Ayush Shetty in the 2026 Asian Championships final and arrives as the player everyone else in the draw needs to navigate around.
Kunlavut Vitidsarn: The 2023 World Champion Who Wants It Back
World number two Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand is the in-form badminton player who won this very tournament in 2023. He plays with an attacking aggression that can overwhelm opponents who are not prepared for the pace he brings from the start of a match. His backhand is one of the best on the circuit and his ability to take the shuttle early and hit winners from positions most players would play defensively is what separates him from the rest of the field outside Shi Yuqi.
At the 2025 World Championships in Paris, Kunlavut went out earlier than his ranking suggested. He will come into New Delhi hungry for the title again. Among the badminton stars at the BWF 2026, he is the one who knows exactly what it feels like to win this tournament, and that experience matters in knockout rounds when pressure builds.
Anders Antonsen: Europe's Best Hope at BWF 2026
Denmark's Anders Antonsen at world number three is the strongest European contender in the men's singles draw. He has the physicality and the tactical intelligence to beat Asian players on their best days and his record against top 10 opponents is solid. Antonsen plays a physically demanding brand of badminton and his ability to sustain high-intensity rallies over a long match is one of his biggest assets in a week-long tournament where fatigue accumulates across rounds.
Among players to watch at The World Badminton Championship from outside Asia, Antonsen is the name most likely to cause an upset in the quarterfinals or semifinals. His route through the draw will determine how far he goes but if he gets a favourable bracket, a final appearance is not out of the question.
An Se-young: The Women's Number One Everyone Needs to Beat
South Korea's An Se-young is the 2024 Olympic gold medallist, the 2023 World Champion, and the current women's world number one. She has a career record of 432 wins and 75 losses and her current ranking of 1 as of May 5, 2026, reflects a player who simply wins more than she loses at every level of competition. At 24 years old she is in the peak of her career and New Delhi is a tournament she will be targeting as one of the major results on her schedule.
Her game is built on consistency and court coverage rather than power. She retrieves shuttles that most players would give up on, resets rallies, and then picks her moment to attack. Playing against her is exhausting over the course of a five-game match. Among the best singles players in badminton in the women's draw, nobody else in the field comes close to her overall level right now.
Akane Yamaguchi: The Reigning World Champion
Japan's Akane Yamaguchi won the 2025 BWF World Championships in Paris, defeating An Se-young in the final. That result alone makes her the most dangerous woman in the draw aside from An Se-young herself. Yamaguchi's game is built on fighting spirit and the ability to stay in rallies long enough to force errors. She is not the biggest hitter in women's singles but she makes opponents work for every single point and very few players enjoy playing against her style.
As the reigning World Champion and one of the most consistent performers on the women's circuit, Yamaguchi is the player An Se-young will need to navigate if she is going to win in New Delhi. Their recent meetings have been close and the 2026 final, if it happens, will be one of the best matches of the tournament.
Ayush Shetty: India's Most Exciting Rising Star
If there is one rising badminton star in 2026 who has the whole world talking, it is Ayush Shetty of India. Born on May 3, 2005, and currently 21 years old, Shetty stands 1.95 metres tall and plays with a ferocious attacking game that has drawn comparisons to some of the best players on the circuit. At the 2026 Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, he announced himself to the world by defeating Li Shifeng (WR7), Jonatan Christie (WR4), and Kunlavut Vitidsarn (WR2) in consecutive rounds before losing to Shi Yuqi in the final.
That run made him the first Indian to win a men's singles silver medal at the Asian Championships. Viktor Axelsen, the man Shetty considers his idol, praised him publicly after training sessions together in Dubai, calling his style one of the most exciting coming onto the tour. PV Sindhu, who has trained with him at the Prakash Padukone Academy, described him as a generational talent. For young talents badminton 2026, there is no bigger name to watch in New Delhi. A home World Championship crowd behind a 21-year-old playing the match of his life is one of the most compelling storylines of the tournament.
Lakshya Sen: India's Most Experienced Singles Threat
While Ayush Shetty carries the excitement of new talent, Lakshya Sen brings the experience that complements it. Currently ranked world number 11, Lakshya has been operating at the top of the BWF circuit for several years and knows what it takes to win big matches. His movement is among the best in men's singles and he can absorb pressure and turn matches from difficult positions, which is a quality that matters enormously in a knockout tournament.
Sen reached the All England final in 2026, showing he can perform on the biggest stages of the sport. Playing in New Delhi in front of a home crowd at a World Championship is a different kind of pressure to anything he has experienced before, but his career has shown he rises to the occasion more often than not. Among the top badminton players 2026 that Indian fans will be watching most closely, Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty are the two names at the top of that list.
PV Sindhu and the Indian Women's Singles
No discussion of India at the BWF World Championships 2026 is complete without PV Sindhu. Two World Championship silver medals, an Olympic gold, and an Olympic bronze make her the most decorated Indian badminton player in history. She is not the highest-ranked Indian woman in the draw, but she carries a weight of experience that no ranking number can reflect. A home World Championship in New Delhi is the kind of occasion that can bring the best out of a player at the later stages of their career, and Sindhu has never been short of motivation on the biggest stages.
Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin: The World Number One Doubles Pair
In men's doubles, Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin of Malaysia are the current world number one pair on the BWF World Tour rankings. They have been the most consistent men's doubles pair on the circuit and arrive in New Delhi as the team everyone else in the discipline needs to beat. Their combination of net control and attacking synchronisation makes them difficult to put under sustained pressure. Among the top doubles players in badminton, this Malaysian pair is the one to watch in the men's draw.
Anupama Upadhyaya: India's Young Women's Singles Hope
Among young talents in badminton 2026 from India, Anupama Upadhyaya deserves attention. Born on February 12, 2005 and currently 21 years old, she is a former BWF World Junior Number 1 and the 2023 Indian National Champion. Currently ranked world number 49, she is not expected to challenge the top seeds but on home soil in New Delhi the experience of playing at a World Championship in front of an Indian crowd could accelerate her development significantly. Keep an eye on her early round performances.
Final Thoughts on Players to Watch in New Delhi
The BWF World Championships 2026 has players worth watching across every discipline. Shi Yuqi and An Se-young arrive as the clear favourites in the singles events. Kunlavut Vitidsarn and Akane Yamaguchi are the most dangerous challengers. And for Indian fans, Ayush Shetty is the rising badminton star 2026 that this tournament could define. His run at the 2026 Asian Championships showed he can beat world number 2 players in a single session. In front of a packed New Delhi crowd in August, on the biggest stage of his young career, anything feels possible. For fans wanting to follow the action with a stake on the results, Reddy Anna covers badminton online betting markets for all five disciplines throughout the BWF World Championships 2026.