India's men's doubles pair Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun bowed out of the BWF World Championships 2026 after losing 21-17, 21-14 to 15th seeds Kang Min Hyuk and Ki Dong Ju of South Korea in straight games in New Delhi.
The Indian pair fought hard in the opening game but could not convert their opportunities, eventually losing 21-17, 21-14 to the former world champion Kang and his partner Ki.
Hariharan and Arjun stayed in the contest deep into the opening game and were level at 14-14 before a series of errors allowed the Korean pair to pull away. The Indians struggled to find a way through the Koreans' solid defence thereafter and were unable to force a third game.
Players Reflect on Defeat
Reflecting on the defeat, Hariharan said the Indian pair knew beforehand that they would have to construct long rallies to break down the Korean defence. "We knew before the match that it's not an easy match. We have to get points of 10 to 12, 15 rallies minimum. Uh, that was good. The first game was close, like, very close, neck-to-neck, 15-all. After that, simple errors from our side. Second set was, you know, the one... like a slower side; we went to the slower side, that smashes, and all can't finish. So, it's okay, it's a good game, looking forward to the next tournament," he said.
Arjun felt the Indians had executed their game plan well during the opening game but were unable to close it out when it mattered. "It was definitely not the pace because in the first game we were scoring points with pace, I believe. I mean, our tactics were to start from the faster side, get those attacking smashes and with the pace make them move side-to-side. Koreans typically have a game style in which they're very strong in defense. They're not very fast with the side-to-side movement but our tactics was that. We executed it well in the first but couldn't close out the first, that cost us the match," Arjun told reporters after the match.
The Indians also found the slower side challenging in the second game, with Arjun pointing to errors after the scores were level at 15-15 as a decisive moment. "Service, all of those were the same. I think in the first game, from 15-all, if we wouldn't have made those errors, that cost us the match. It was an either side match if we would have won the first set. Because playing from that side was a difficult task because of the slower shuttle. But yeah, mistakes cost us the match," said Arjun.
Hariharan's powerful smash was one of the positives for the Indians, as he repeatedly managed to trouble the Korean defence when he was able to unleash it. The pair, however, could not sustain their attacking pressure against the experienced Koreans.
Arjun explained that the conditions affected the depth of their lifts in the second game, allowing the Koreans to attack more effectively. "I didn't think they had a tactic. Probably people sitting outside would have felt that because coming from the faster side or if you had seen us starting from the faster side, our tactics was almost the same, to get those attacks. So when we went on to the second set to the slower side, probably our lifts were not going that high or behind. That's why they got the smashes' depth. I mean, the depth was pretty much coming down to our knees," he said.
The defeat ended Hariharan and Arjun's campaign at the World Championships, but their performance against the experienced Korean combination offered encouragement, particularly in the opening game.
Mixed Day for India
India had a mixed day in the men's and women's singles and doubles events. Ayush Shetty progressed to the pre-quarterfinals with a dominant 21-8, 21-10 win over Sri Lanka's Dumindu Abeywickrama, while PV Sindhu also advanced after defeating Canada's Wen Yu Zhang 21-16, 21-17.
Unnati Hooda's maiden World Championships campaign ended in the second round after the 18-year-old lost a thrilling contest to Canada's 13th seed Michelle Li 21-11, 9-21, 21-23.
Lakshya Sen was also knocked out after suffering a stunning 19-21, 21-19, 21-17 defeat to USA's world No. 92 Garret Tan.
Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto advanced with a 21-11, 21-11 victory over Macau's Leong Lok Chong and Ng Weng Chi, while fifth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty progressed via a walkover. (ANI)
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