Dechapol and Supissara rally into world quarter-finals
Dechapol and Supissara recovered from a game down to beat Japan’s 13th seeds and book a quarter-final against Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue.
Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran recovered from a game down to defeat Japan’s Yuichi Shimogami and Sayaka Hobara on Thursday (August 20, 2026), advancing to the mixed doubles quarter-finals of the BWF World Championships in New Delhi.
The fourth-seeded Thai pair completed a 17-21, 21-12, 21-17 victory over the Japanese 13th seeds in their round-of-16 match at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.
Dechapol and Supissara will return to court on Friday (August 21) to face French fifth seeds Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue for a place in the semi-finals.
Thai pair seize control after losing opener
Shimogami and Hobara took the first game 21-17, leaving the Thai pair needing to reverse the momentum to remain in the tournament.
Dechapol and Supissara responded by taking the second game 21-12, producing the most decisive scoreline of the match to force a deciding game.
The final game remained closer, but the Thai pair secured the points needed to complete the comeback at 21-17 and move into the last eight.
The victory continued a demanding campaign for Dechapol and Supissara, who also needed three games to defeat Spain’s Ruben Garcia and Lucia Rodriguez in the previous round.
After losing the opener in that match, the Thai pair recovered to win 14-21, 21-11, 21-15 and earn their place in the round of 16.
French fifth seeds await in quarter-finals
Gicquel and Delrue secured the other place in the quarter-final by defeating Smith and Gai 24-22, 21-16.
The opening game was closely contested before the French pair edged it by 2 points. They then took the second game 21-16 to complete a straight-games victory.
The quarter-final will bring together the fourth and fifth seeds, with the winners progressing to the mixed doubles semi-finals.
Championships return to India after 17 years
The BWF World Championships are being held in New Delhi from August 17 to 23, with titles contested in men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
The event marks the World Championships’ return to India 17 years after the country hosted the 2009 tournament in Hyderabad.
