Indian badminton players face a formidable challenge at the upcoming 2025 BWF World Championships, with the official draw, held on Wednesday, revealing stiff competition for the nation’s top contenders. The tournament is set to take place in Paris from August 25 to 31, returning to the French capital a year after the Olympic Games, where Lakshya Sen’s fourth-place finish stood as India’s best performance.

India will need to pull off significant upsets to maintain its strong record at the event, having last returned without a medal from the 2010 edition — also held in Paris.

Men’s Singles: Prannoy’s uphill battle

Veteran H.S. Prannoy, currently ranked World No. 34, will open his campaign against Joakim Oldorff of Finland. A win could see him face World No. 2 Anders Antonsen of Denmark in the second round — a steep hurdle for the 2023 bronze medallist.

Women’s Singles: Sindhu flies solo

P.V. Sindhu, India’s sole representative in women’s singles, enters her ninth world championships. The 30-year-old, a former champion (2019) and two-time Olympic medallist, takes on Kaloyana Nalbantova of Bulgaria in the first round. A likely round-of-16 clash against second-seeded Wang Zhi Yi of China awaits Sindhu, making her path to a sixth world medal anything but straightforward.

Men’s Doubles: Satwik-Chirag face power-packed draw

Top Indian men’s doubles duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have received a first-round bye. They will face the winner between fellow Indians Hariharan Amsakarunan/Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi and Chinese Taipei’s Liu Kuang Heng/Yang Po Han.

Their section of the draw is loaded with danger. If they advance, they could face World No. 6 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang of China, silver medallists at the Paris Olympics. The Chinese pair leads the Indians 6-2 in head-to-head battles. If Satwik and Chirag get past that hurdle, former world champions Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia could await them in the quarterfinals — opponents who ended their Olympic dreams last year and hold an 11-3 record against the Indian pair.

Women’s Doubles: Opportunity for new faces

With top pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand pulling out, the focus shifts to Priya Konjengbam/Shruti Mishra and the Panda sisters — Rutaparna and Swetaparna. Priya and Shruti open against a French pair and could meet World No. 4 Baek Ha Na/Lee So Hee next. The Panda sisters face the experienced Stoeva sisters from Bulgaria in the opening round.

Mixed Doubles: Hopes rest on Dhruv-Tanisha

India’s top-ranked mixed doubles pair Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto (World No. 17) have a first-round bye and will open against either Ireland’s Joshua Magee/Moya Ryan or the USA’s Linden Wang/Eva Wang. Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde will begin their campaign against Leong Iok Chong/Weng Chi Ng of Macau.

With few favourable draws and high-seeded opponents early on, India’s path to the podium in Paris will demand resilience, grit, and inspired performances across all categories.