Until the advent of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, India's doubles challenge at the international level never worthy of any serious consideration.
The hardworking Indian combo changed that perception by becoming World No. 1 in October 2023, winning gold at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, and capturing titles at the elite Super 1000 and Super 750 levels as well as the Asian Championships. They also contributed the vital point in India’s historic 3-0 triumph over defending champions Indonesia in the 2022 Thomas Cup final. It’s thus on the broad shoulders of Sat-Chi, as they are widely known, that India’s hopes of a medal in the World Badminton Championships, beginning in New Delhi on August 17, rest.
Given Sat-Chi’s achievements, gold should’ve been expected, but the powerful Satwik has recently returned from a chronic shoulder injury that hampered the pair for much of the past year.
Sat-Chi’s biggest stroke of luck is being drawn in a different half from the World No. 1 pair of Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae. The Korean left-right combination won 11 titles in 2025 and three so far in 2026, including the All England and Badminton Asia Championships.
The fifth-seeded Indians could meet Indonesians Raymond Indra and Nikolaus Joaquin (12) in the round of 16, followed by Chinese third seeds Liang Wei Kang and Wang Chang or unpredictable Danes Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen in the quarters.
Standing between them and the final could be second seeds Fajar Alfian and Shohibul Fikri, provided the Indonesians overcome Japan’s Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi (8) in the last eight.
Sat-Chi have beaten all these pairs at some point in the past couple of years and should enjoy feverish home support. A podium finish looks well within their reach, with a projected final vs Kim and Seo.
India’s women’s doubles pair of Gayatri Pullela and Treesa Jolly
Not too much should be expected of the other Indian pair, Amsakarunan and MR Arjun, who are in the bottom section alongside Alfian and Fikri. In women’s doubles, India’s best pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Pullela (daughter of national coach and 2001 All England champion Pullela Gopichand) face Lauren Lam and Allison Lee of the US, seeded 16. A win could set up a pre-quarter-final against seventh-seeded Japanese Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi. They could then face Chinese fourth seeds Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian for a possible bronze-medal berth.
India’s mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto
In mixed doubles, 16th seeds Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto face a difficult path, with Chinese pairs Guo Xin Wa and Chen Fang Hui (6) and Jian Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin (2) in their quarter. So, a medal here is almost impossible.
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