New Delhi, August 19: Unnati Hooda’s debut at the BWF World Championship concluded in the second round. On Wednesday, she faced a tough defeat against Canada’s Michelle Li.
The 18-year-old Indian player came close to shocking her higher-ranked opponent but ultimately fell short in a match that lasted less than an hour at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex. The final scores were 21-11, 9-21, 21-23.
Unnati had advanced to the second round by defeating Myanmar’s Thet Htar Thuzar in straight games, with scores of 22-20, 21-16. In 2025, she achieved one of her career’s biggest victories by beating two-time Olympic medalist P.V. Sindhu at the China Open.
Unnati started strong, quickly securing four points to assert her intentions. She maintained her lead and reached the interval of the first game with a score of 11-8, holding a three-point advantage. A risky play at the net by Li allowed Unnati to gain another point, but she still had a solid lead. The Indian player forced her experienced rival to fight for every point and ultimately claimed the first game.
Carrying the confidence from the first game, Unnati began the second game with a 3-1 lead. However, the momentum shifted quickly in favor of Li. The Canadian player surged ahead to 6-4 and reached the mid-game interval with an 11-5 advantage. Capitalizing on Unnati’s unforced errors, Li improved her game and won the second set 21-9.
In the deciding match, Unnati put up a strong fight, scoring some impressive winners. She took a 5-4 lead by winning five consecutive points. Despite both players making mistakes near the net, Unnati held a slight advantage at 10-9. However, a poor shot selection allowed Li to equalize at 10-10. The match was tied at 19-19 when a clever shot and a powerful smash gave Unnati a match point opportunity at 20-19. Unfortunately, she could not capitalize on it. A critical error allowed Li to come back, and she secured the match with a score of 23-21, leaving Unnati with a heartbreaking defeat in her World Championship debut.
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