New Delhi [India], August 19 (ANI): Indian shuttler Unnati Hooda bowed out of the BWF World Championships 2026 after a narrow second-round defeat to Canada's Michelle Li at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here on Wednesday.

The 18-year-old Indian pushed the experienced Canadian all the way in a tense three-game contest before Li prevailed 11-21, 21-9, 23-21 to bring Hooda's maiden World Championships campaign to an end.

Hooda made an impressive start, dictating the pace from the outset and putting Li under pressure with her attacking game. The Indian quickly established control and wrapped up the opening game 21-11.

Li responded emphatically in the second game, finding greater consistency and disrupting Hooda's rhythm to level the contest with a 21-9 win.

The decider turned into a closely fought battle, with neither player able to establish a decisive advantage. Hooda continued to find success with her smashes, while Li used her net play effectively to create openings.

The Indian had opportunities to close out the contest but could not convert them as Li held her nerve in the closing stages to edge the decider 23-21.

Reflecting on the defeat, Hooda acknowledged the fine margins that decided the match.

'I feel it was a good match, and she was also playing really well, and it was neck-to-neck and in the end it was a bit of nerves and a bit of how better we can control, and I had two advantages and couldn't convert the match. I am happy with the way that I played the whole match, but I am sad that I could have converted it into a really good win. But yeah, that's it. So I'll just take good points from here and work hard on whatever is next,' she told reporters after the defeat.

Asked whether there was a particular moment when the match slipped away, Hooda said the contest was largely decided through the exchanges at the net.

'There is not one particular point I would say, but there were few good net shots, few good taps from my side and few good taps she also hit. So yeah, it was good competition going on from the front court. So whosoever was taking on the front court was getting a good chance to attack. So it was more competition on the front court, who can get more chances to hit,' she said.

Hooda had entered the second round after defeating Myanmar's Thet Htar Thuzar 22-20, 21-16 in her opening match.

The Rohtak-born shuttler has established herself as one of India's promising young players. She became the youngest player to win a BWF World Tour title at the age of 14 and produced one of the biggest wins of her career last year by defeating two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu at the 2025 China Open.

Although her World Championships journey ended in the second round, Hooda's performance against the higher-ranked Li provided another indication of her growing stature on the international stage. (ANI)