A BWF World Championships to remember: USA on New Delhi’s Stage (2026)
- August 24, 2026
- 1:57 pm
At the BWF World Championships 2026, which took place in New Delhi India from August 17-23, four US players made it to round of 16. Among them, Garret Tan made his debut at the World Championships one to remember.
The 18 year old men’s singles player entered into round of 32 after readily defeating opponent Tobias Kuenzi in his first match. Facing opponent Lakshya Sen, an Indian fan-favorite ranked number 14 in the world, the odds were not stacked in Tan’s favor. However, Tan surprised spectators. He pulled off a definitive victory against Sen with their match ending in a scoreline of 19-21, 21,19, 21-17. BWF commented on Tan’s unprecedented win in this article titled “Garret Tan Sparkles on Great Day for Pan Am.” Tan’s run ended in round of 16, leading him to profess, “although I am a little upset about my performance today, I’m still super grateful and super happy about my overall results this week. I still have so much to learn, and I still have such a long way to go.”
Tan was supported by his parents as well as by coaches Olympian Paula Lynn Obanana, Lauren Lam (who competed in Women’s Doubles with partner Allison Lee), and Tony Gunawan. ESPN admired the support, especially from Obanana and Lam, in this article titled “Two women, one master-plan: Rare all-female coaching duo behind 18yo Garret Tan’s upset of Lakshya Sen at Badminton Worlds.”
Ishika Jaiswal also progressed to round of 16. This was an especially meaningful World Championships for Jaiswal, considering how close the venue was to her hometown. She glows, “getting to play on the TV court for singles for the first time was something I had dreamed about and worked towards for a long time. To finally experience it at a World Championships, in India, made it even more special.”
Jaiswal entered the tournament unseeded, making her progression all the more impressive.
In mixed doubles, Presley Smith and Jennie Gai secured their spot in round 16, decisively beating Brazilian opponents Fabricio Farias and Jaqueline Lima in round of 32. The two put up a valiant effort in their match against French pair Thom Gicquel and Delphine Derue, who are currently ranked number 5 in the world and went on to win the Mixed Doubles medal. The Smith/Gai duo was highlighted in the BWF article “USA’s Time to Shine?” and, although they did not make it to the alluded to quarter-finals chance, they have a performance to be proud of.
Overall, the US was represented by 10 athletes:
Men’s Singles
Mark Shelley Alcala (featured in BWF article “‘I’ve Got You, Dad!’”)
Garret Tan
Women’s Singles
Beiwen Zhang
Ishika Jaiswal
Men’s Doubles
Hermes Zhi Yi Chen/Presley Smith
Women’s Doubles
Lauren Lam/Allison Lee
Francesca Corbett/Jennie Gai
Mixed Doubles
Presley Smith/Jennie Gai
Hermes Zhi Yi Chen/Francesca Corbett
Congratulations to our players!
Photo Credit: BadmintonPhoto