BWF World Championships Quarterfinals Deliver Upsets and Historic Milestones

Quarterfinal action at the BWF World Championships delivered major upsets and historic milestones, with India’s Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand emerging as the biggest success story.

The unseeded Indian duo stunned fourth seeds Jia Yifan and Zhang Shuxian 16-21, 21-15, 21-13 to book their place in the semi-finals. Their remarkable comeback has secured India’s first women’s doubles medal at the World Championships in 15 years.

The result also keeps India’s medal streak at the prestigious championships alive.

Quarterfinals clash sees Alex Lanier 🇫🇷 go up against Kunlavut Vitidsarn 🇹🇭.#BWFWorldChampionships #NewDelhi2026 pic.twitter.com/nbq6XLj7Il

— BWF (@bwfmedia) August 21, 2026

Alex Lanier Knocks Out Defending Champion

In men’s singles, Alex Lanier produced one of the biggest upsets of the quarterfinals by defeating reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn 19-21, 21-16, 21-16.

Kodai Naraoka also advanced after beating Anders Antonsen 21-19, 21-15, while Chou Tien-chen defeated Alwi Farhan 21-15, 21-15.
Victor Lai completed the men’s singles semi-final lineup after overcoming Rasmus Gemke 21-19, 21-18.

An Se-young Continues Title Defence

World No. 1 An Se-young maintained her title defence with a convincing 21-19, 21-12 victory over Han Yue.

Wang Zhiyi defeated Line Christophersen 21-10, 21-7, while former world No. 1 Akane Yamaguchi secured her semi-final berth with a 21-17, 21-10 win over Michelle Li.

Satwik-Chirag Exit in Men’s Doubles

India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were knocked out by world No. 1 pair Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang, who won 21-18, 21-9.

Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik defeated Lin Xiangyi and Hu Keyuan 21-11, 21-17. Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho also advanced after beating Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin 21-16, 21-16.

China Maintains Strong Semi-Final Presence

Top seeds Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning advanced in women’s doubles, while mixed doubles top seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dongping came from behind to defeat Cheng Xing and Zhang Chi 18-21, 21-10, 21-15.
China continued to maintain semi-final representation across every discipline, underlining its strength at the championships.

Hear from Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand Pullela 🇮🇳 after reaching a major milestone today. 👏🎙️#BWFWorldChampionships #NewDelhi2026 pic.twitter.com/sxgXnVMNUf

— BWF (@bwfmedia) August 21, 2026

Historic Milestone for India

The standout moment of the quarterfinals belonged to Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand. Their victory not only puts them within one win of a place in the World Championship final but also guarantees a historic women’s doubles medal for India after a 15-year wait.