The draws for the BWF World Championships 2025 are officially out. The badminton competition will be held in Paris from August 25-31.
A total of 382 players will take part. The men’s singles draw has 64 players, and for the first time, the women’s singles will also feature 64 players instead of 48. Each event has 16 seeded players according to the world rankings published on August 5.
For India, it will be a tough challenge, given the current form of the shuttlers and the draws. The challenge will be led by PV Sindhu, India’s most successful player at the World Championships. The men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will also be in action along with singles players Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy.
Men’s Singles
India’s men’s singles challenge will be led by Sen and Prannoy. This will be Sen’s fourth World Championships appearance and Prannoy’s seventh. Both are bronze medal winners in this competition. Yet, they are not seeded this year.
Sen will face top seed and World No. 1 Shi Yu Qi of China in the first round, while Prannoy will take on Joaqim Oldorff of Finland. If Prannoy advances, then a tough opponent in Anders Antonsen of Denmark awaits in the next round.
Women’s Singles
Seeded 16th, Sindhu is the only Indian in women’s singles. This will be her ninth appearance. The five-time medal winner and former champion will face Kaloyana Nalbantova of Bulgaria in the first round. If she progresses, Sindhu could meet China’s Wang Zhi Yi in the Round of 16.
Men’s Doubles
Satwik and Chirag get a bye in the opening round. They will face the winner of the match between the Indian pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Reithinasabathi or Taiwan’s Liu Kuang Heng and Yang Po Han.
As the ninth seeds, Satwik and Chirag could meet China’s Liang Wei Kang and Wang Chang in a tough Round of 16 match. If they progresses to the next round, a possible quarterfinal awaits them against their arch-rivals Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia.
Women’s Doubles
In women’s doubles, Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra will face France’s Margot Lambert and Camille Pognante in the Round of 64. The Panda sisters, Rutaparna and Swetaparna, will be up against Bulgaria’s Gabriela Stoeva & Stefani Stoeva.
India’s top women’s doubles pair, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, has withdrawn from the tournament.
Mixed Doubles
Seeded 16th, the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto get a bye in the Round of 64. In the Round of 32, they could set up a possible Round of 16 clash against Hong Kong’s Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet depending on how they perform.
Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde will take on Macau’s Leong Lok Ching and Ng Weng Chi in their opening match.