The World Badminton Championship has returned to the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi after 17 years. And on the second day, the performance of Indian shuttlers was a mixture of victory, comeback and breathless fight.
In the men’s singles, the country’s star shuttler Lakshya Sen made a great comeback after falling behind 16-21 in the first game against Austria’s Collins Valentine Philemon. He played aggressive badminton in the next two games and won the match with a strong score of 21-8, 21-4.
In the women’s singles, Vratsa Hooda tasted victory in her debut at the World Championship. Her confident and controlled badminton caught the eye in her 22-20, 21-16 victory over Myanmar’s Thet Har Thujar. This victory on the world stage at the age of 18 is a sign of a bright future for the new generation of Indian badminton.
In women’s doubles, Teresa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand Pullella defeated the 16th seeded pair of American Lauren Lam-Allison Lee 21-15, 21-12 to reach the pre-quarterfinals. They controlled the match from the beginning and showed clear dominance throughout the match.
However, not all stories are of victory. In mixed doubles, Rohan Kapoor-Ruthvika Shivani Gadde lost 22-20, 19-21, 17-21 and Asitha-Amruta lost 21-16, 29-30, 22-24. In women’s doubles, Kavipriya Selvam-Simran Singhi also lost 7-21, 14-21.
The World Championship will continue till August 23. More tough opponents, bigger tests, more thrills lie ahead. So in every swing of the racket, in every smash, in every point, there is only one dream – to raise the tricolor even higher on the world stage.
English 
Sinhala