Kunlavut beats Nettasinghe to reach BWF Worlds second round
World No 2 Kunlavut Vitidsarn beat Sri Lanka’s Viren Nettasinghe 21-11, 21-6 and will next face Israel’s Daniil Dubovenko.
Thailand’s Kunlavut “View” Vitidsarn advanced to the second round of the BWF World Championships 2026 after defeating Sri Lanka’s Viren Nettasinghe in straight games.
Kunlavut, the world No 2 and 2023 world champion, produced a commanding performance to beat the world No 91 by 21-11, 21-6.
The Thai player will next face Israel’s Daniil Dubovenko, ranked 57th in the world, on Court 4 at 7.50pm on Wednesday (August 19).
BWF World Championships return to India
The 30th BWF World Championships are being held at the Indira Gandhi Arena, also known as the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, in New Delhi from August 17-23.
The tournament marks the return of a BWF Grade 1 major event to India for the first time in 17 years, following the country’s previous hosting in 2009.
Five disciplines are being contested: men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
The World Championships are among the BWF’s highest-level competitions and award the same maximum number of world-ranking points as the Olympic Games.
BWF World Championships 2026 schedule
- Monday, August 17: Round of 64
- Tuesday, August 18: Round of 64
- Wednesday, August 19: Round of 32
- Thursday, August 20: Round of 16
- Friday, August 21: Quarter-finals
- Saturday, August 22: Semi-finals
- Sunday, August 23: Finals
Thai badminton supporters can watch live coverage of the BWF World Championships 2026 on True Sports 7, channel 686.
