NEW DELHI: The 2026 BWF World Championships, which began on Monday, has the most representation from China (30) followed by Chinese Taipei (24), Indonesia (24), Japan (23) and India, Malaysia (20). European powerhouse Denmark have 13 members across the five draws. One can guage the popularity of a sport in a country by the media outlets that travel for a competition. TV2 (Denmark), China Media Group (China) and Astro (Malaysia) are the three outlets that have made the journey to New Delhi.At the other end of the spectrum sit the likes of Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Brazil, Mexico and Uganda. These countries have very few players to show for themselves, let alone a travelling media contingent.\Take Uganda’s Fadilah Shamika Mohamed Rafi for instance. The 21-year-old was born in Tamil Nadu and didn’t have enough partners to train so she moved to Mauritius. Introduced to the sport at 9-10 years old by her father Mohammed Rafi, she found a boost courtesy a scholarship/training stint in Dubai. By winning her second medal at the All Africa Senior Badminton Championships, she qualified for the ongoing World Championships.Her story is not alone.Kaloyana Nalbantova was part of Bulgaria’s triumphant European Women’s Team Championships earlier this year. On Monday she ran into an unstoppable force that is World No. 1 and three-time Worlds medallist An Se-young and lost. Still, she remains steadfast in what she can achieve.“Because we are Bulgaria and nobody believes in small countries,” she said when asked why they’re underestimated. “When we want to achieve something, we work really hard, it doesn’t matter what will cost us, I think that’s the part,” she continued.At the BWF World Championships, Bulgaria have representation in three events, encompassing five athletes. Five-time European champions Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva are the biggest names.“It’s really not famous as a sport in Bulgaria and everybody underestimates our sport. They say it’s a ‘ladies sport’ but they (should) come here they see how hard it is,” continued the 20-year-old Nalbantova.With no money coming in from sponsors, she relies on playing in European leagues, her own winnings and support from the federation to fund her badminton. That is also the state of things for South African women’s doubles team Amy Ackerman and Johanita Scholtz, who progressed to the Round of 32.Ackerman, 21, began by tossing the shuttle with her father in the garden, using the telephone wire as an imaginary net, before taking up professional coaching in school. 26-year-old Scholtz, meanwhile, chanced upon badminton while accompanying her mother for squash.They only got together last week to train for the World Championships. With one hailing from Blomfontein and other from Johannesburg, they chat regularly to work on their respective games that ends up complimenting the team effort. The skyrocketing petrol prices in South Africa and the war in Western Asia has made their travel plans even tougher.“It is a challenge because we have very big sports like rugby, swimming, athletics, cricket… But we’re trying to build. We’re going to get our name out there,” said Ackerman. “The tricky thing is to get the schools and kids to play it,” chimed in Scholtz.Brazilian men’s doubles pairing of Fabricio Farias and Davi Silva are banking on their 21-14, 22-20 win to inspire sponsors to come out and support them. The duo ply their trade in Sao Paulo and get financial aid from the Olympic Association (COB) and the government.Canada’s Johnna Rymes produced the play of the day with a sensational behind-the-back wristful return that took everyone on the court — including her partner Eyota Kwan — by surprise.The duo met at the Edmonton Club and are riding on the popularity of the sport created by last year’s world champion Victor Lai. “The sport is growing a lot because of Victor. We played a local tournament where even the umpires were distracted by watching his semifinals at Indonesia on their devices,” said Rymes with a laugh.In the end, one of the traditional powerhouses may walk out of the BWF World Championships with a medal around their neck, but the tournament has offered a reminder that the sport’s reach extends far beyond the countries that dominate the medal table.
