The second day of the World Championships offered it all – surprises, high-level badminton, and plenty of intensity on court. As on the opening day, a large number of European players were in action, delivering both wins and losses, but consistently showing strong fighting spirit and determination.
One of the most notable results of the day came from Azerbaijan’s Ade Resky Dwicahyo, who defeated Japan’s Koki Watanabe. (Read more about that match here.)
The day began with defeats for several European athletes, as Tobias Kuenzi, Yevheniia Kantemyr, Polina Buhrova and Matthias Kicklitz all exited before the completion of the first two rounds. There was success, however, for Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Julie Macpherson, who produced a convincing 21-11, 21-9 win over Lau/Li of New Zealand. Neslihan Arin, a former European Championships medalist, played an excellent match against eighth seed Tomoka Miyazaki, pushing the Japanese player to three games before narrowly losing out.
In doubles, several pairs faced tough opponents. Bourakkadi/Neumann lost 21-15, 21-11 to Japan’s Hoki/Kobayashi, Ivancic/Polanc fell 21-19, 21-14 to Farias/Lima of Brazil, and Pringle/Andrew were beaten 21-14, 21-16 by Lee/Chae of South Korea.
Perhaps the highlight of the day came in the men’s singles, where France’s Toma Popov and Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting played a thrilling match lasting 1 hour and 32 minutes. Popov saved two match points in the deciding game before securing the win 25-23. At 20-19, Ginting appeared to have the upper hand, but slipped and twisted his ankle. He continued to play at a high level, though it was clear after the match that he was in pain. The extent of the injury is not yet known. Afterward, Popov praised his opponent: “He is a really good player, I kind of felt like he knew me perfectly… technically he is just nearly a god.”
Popov later returned to court for men’s doubles alongside his brother Christo. The pair thrilled the home crowd but eventually lost to seventh seeds Man/Tee of Malaysia after another long match.
Elsewhere, Vivian Sandorhazi, bronze medalist at the 2025 European Championships, showed she could compete with Asia’s top players but fell in three games to Wen Chi Hsu of Chinese Taipei, 20-22, 21-15, 21-12. In women’s doubles, Kirstin De Wit and Maria Stoliarenko were defeated by Japan’s ninth-seeded Iwanaga/Nakanishi, 21-8, 21-10.
Swiss pair Lucie Amiguet and Caroline Racloz, who impressed yesterday, faced the world No. 1 pair Liu/Tan from China. The young Europeans could not match their opponents and lost 21-8, 21-4.
Danish players also featured prominently. With the exception of Rasmus Gemke, all advanced to the next round: Line Kjærsfeldt, Alexandra Bøje/Mathias Christiansen, Anders Antonsen and Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen.
Young Bulgarian Kaloyana Nalbantova was handed a difficult draw against former world champion Pusarla Sindhu. She had two opportunities to close out the opening game but eventually lost it 23-21. In the second game Sindhu dominated, winning 21-6.
Later in the day, several Europeans exited the tournament, including Adam/Rossi, Joakim Oldorff, Miranda Wilson, Yasmine Hamza, Buhrova/Kantemyr, and Maio/Palermo. France’s Margot Lambert and Camille Pognante came close to upsetting the fourth-seeded Koreans Baek/Lee, pushing them deep into a deciding game before losing 21-11, 17-21, 21-17.
In a meeting of experience and youth, Spain’s 40-year-old Pablo Abian, playing his 14th World Championships, faced England’s Ethan Rose, making his debut. Rose eventually prevailed in three games, 21-9, 17-21, 21-12. Other English successes included Callum Hemming/Estelle Van Leeuwen, who defeated Ruben Garcia/Lucia Rodriguez in three games, and Rory Easton/Lizzie Tolman, who also progressed. There was also a positive return for Ben Lane and Sean Vendy, back on court just three months after Lane’s foot surgery. They overcame South Korea’s Kim/Kim 21-18, 21-16. Afterward, Vendy reflected: “We knew it was going to be a tough match, and it was. They get a lot back and they are very good off the racket. We tried to exploit the movement a little more than just going racket for racket.”
With many other European players also in action today, the full overview of results can be found here.
Tomorrow brings the round of 32, where many European athletes will once again take to the courts. It will be a decisive day, as a number of them face higher-ranked opponents and enter as underdogs. Fans can look forward to another day of high-quality badminton and exciting contests at the World Championships.
