Former champion PV Sindhu began her 2026 BWF World Championships campaign with a commanding 21-7, 21-11 victory over Ireland’s Sophia Noble at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Monday.
The World No. 9 Indian needed just 29 minutes to defeat the 21-year-old debutant, who is ranked 141st in the world. Sindhu raced to an 8-0 lead in the opening game and never allowed Noble to settle, closing it out 21-7. Noble offered greater resistance in the second game and stayed within three points at the interval, but Sindhu shifted gears after the break, winning 10 of the next 13 points to seal victory.
The 2019 world champion has now advanced to the women’s singles Round of 32, where she will face Canada’s World No. 49 Wen Yu Zhang.