India name 18-member squad for BWF World Junior Championships 2026: Tanvi Patri leads, 3x55 format adds unpredictability

India announced an 18-member squad for the BWF World Junior Championships 2026 in Cairo, with Tanvi Patri, Shaina Manimuthu and Dev Ruparelia leading the team. The Suhandinata Cup team event runs from October 5 to 10, and the Eye Level Cups individual events from October 11 to 17. India are the fifth seeds in the team event; Indonesia are the ninth seeds. BWF has introduced a 3x55 relay scoring format for the team event and a 3x15 format for individual events, increasing upset potential. The draw puts India in Group D1 with Peru and Brazil, with a likely playoff against the Group D2 winners, almost certainly Indonesia. Tanvi Patri won the Asian U17 title, Shaina Manimuthu took continental silver, and Dev Ruparelia won the India Junior International Grand Prix. The squad includes four boys’ singles players, four girls’ singles players, two boys’ doubles pairs, two girls’ doubles pairs and two mixed doubles pairs. Yogansh Singh and Aanya Bisht are the only players entered in two events. India’s preparation includes selection trials from September 18 to 21 and a World Junior Camp from September 25 to October 2 at the National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati. The key challenge is adapting to the new scoring systems, which shorten matches and raise the chance of upsets. Last year India won team bronze and individual silver on home soil in Guwahati; replicating that in Cairo is a harder test. The championships will show whether India’s junior development is sustainable and whether the new formats become a long-term BWF direction.