New Delhi to Host 2026 Badminton World Championships After 17 Years

Recently, India has been chosen as the host of the 2026 Badminton World Championship. This is the second time India has become the host. Earlier, in 2009, the World Championship was held at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad.

• New Delhi will host the Badminton World Championship next year in August. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced this during the closing ceremony of the 2025 Championship in Paris.
• In 2009, the World Championship was held at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad. This global competition is also returning to Asia after eight years. China had hosted the last Badminton World Championship on the continent in 2018 in Nanjing.

2025 BWF World Championship

• It was a badminton tournament held from 25–31 August 2025 in Paris, France. Paris hosted the BWF World Championship for the first time since 2010.

2026 Badminton World Championship

• Except for Olympic years, the World Championship organized annually by the BWF is the most prestigious competition in the badminton calendar. It crowns world champions in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles and offers the highest ranking points.
• First held in 1977, the Badminton World Championship was held every three years until 1983 and then became a biennial event until 2005.
• India has performed consistently well in this tournament since 2011, winning at least one medal in every edition. Overall, Indian shuttlers have won 15 medals – one gold, four silver, and ten bronze.

India’s medal winners

• Prakash Padukone opened India’s account with a bronze medal in 1983, while P.V. Sindhu remains the country’s most successful player with five medals, including a historic gold in 2019, two silver (2017, 2018), and two bronze (2013, 2014).
• Saina Nehwal won a silver medal in 2015 and a bronze in 2017, while Kidambi Srikanth is India’s only male singles silver medalist, achieving the feat in 2021.
• In doubles, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won a bronze medal in women’s doubles at London 2011, which remains India’s only medal in this category.
• Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have won two men’s doubles bronze medals at Tokyo 2022 and Paris 2025.

Badminton World Federation

• The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is recognized as the world governing body for badminton by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
• The International Badminton Federation (IBF), as it was originally called, was founded on 5 July 1934 in London with nine founding member associations. BWF has a global membership of 203 member associations, mostly national badminton federations.
• Since 2005, BWF’s headquarters have been in Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia, and it has 57 staff members.