The BWF World Championships 2026 produced another major upset as 18-year-old American Garret Tan shocked 14th seed and home favourite Lakshya Sen to reach the Round of 16 in New Delhi.
Ranked No.92 in the world, Tan showed no fear against the far more experienced Sen, using his aggressive attacking game to keep the Indian under constant pressure. Despite suffering a nasty fall late in the deciding game and briefly struggling to see clearly after hitting his head, the teenager kept his composure to complete one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.
Tan, who is ranked No.7 in the BWF World Junior Rankings, admitted he was still struggling to believe he had beaten one of the tournament’s seeded contenders.
“I can’t believe I won,” Tan said. “The last couple of tournaments I had the same problem, I was leading and I lost. I didn’t want to think about losing, I just wanted to focus.”
The American also revealed that he was determined to use the World Championships to show that the USA is becoming a serious force in badminton.
“I just wanted to show the world that USA is not a weak country in badminton; we have some good doubles players, and in singles we are catching up,” he said.
Tan’s breakthrough was part of an outstanding day for Pan Am badminton. His American compatriots Presley Smith/Jennie Gai and Ishika Jaiswal also secured victories, while Canada’s Victor Lai and Michelle Li added further wins for the continent.
Michelle Li survives Unnati Hooda scare
Michelle Li also booked her place in the Round of 16, but the 13th-seeded Canadian was pushed all the way by Indian teenager Unnati Hooda.
Making her World Championships debut, Hooda showed remarkable composure against the experienced Li and stayed within touching distance during the tense closing stages despite playing from the more difficult end.
The 18-year-old earned a match point at 20-19 after a powerful body smash, putting Li under enormous pressure.
However, the Canadian responded with three superb points in a row to escape the scare and keep her hopes of winning a first World Championships medal alive.
