Muhammad Amin Azmi couldn’t hide his joy – it was relief, belief and a quiet sense of arrival all rolled into one.
Up against world No.6 Sivarajan Solaimalai in their Group G SH6 men’s singles match at BAHRAIN BWF Para Badminton World Championships 2026, the Malaysian had every reason to feel the weight of the moment. He had lost to the Indian three times and when the opening game slipped away 21-11, it seemed another long afternoon might be on the cards.
Instead, Azmi dug deep, flipped the script and delivered a standout performance, roaring back to win 21-8 21-18.
“I’m happy to have won against him after three losses,” Azmi said, his emotions still fresh. “I’m delighted, I’ve gained confidence for the upcoming matches.”
The turnaround was rooted in discipline and tactical clarity.
“The coach told me to make him run, find the space and send the shuttle there,” he revealed. “The quality of my returns was good. I kept the shuttle away from his reach plenty of times.”
So how does it feel to finally get the better of Solaimalai, winner of two singles titles last year?
“There’s relief but I’m not quite satisfied because I made a lot of mistakes,” Azmi admitted. “That’s something I need to keep working on.”
After edging Nilton Quispe Ignacio 26-24 21-13 on Sunday, Azmi now knows victory over Huseyin Sagin on Tuesday will crown him group champion.
“I will try my best again. I have the chance to win the group,” he said. “I want to go all out and take advantage in the hope of getting a better draw in the knockouts.”
Drama was not in short supply elsewhere in the Standing Hall, which witnessed arguably its most entertaining contest of the day when He Zhirui and Mingpan Li sealed progress with a thrilling 21-13 21-23 22-20 victory over Koreans Kim Gi-Yeon/Lee Jeongsoo in SU5 men’s doubles.
Playing at their first World Championships as a pair, the Chinese held their nerve when it mattered most.
“We were calm and collected at the end, that was the difference,” said He, while Li revealed the inner dialogue that carried them through: “Constantly reminding myself to focus on every shuttle, every point.”
Now second, they will be Group D champions with a win over Rajkumar/Chirag Baretha in their final match on Wednesday, a prospect they are embracing with belief.
“We are very confident we will win,” enthused Li.
→ Results and order of play (Day 2)
Li controlled the front court well.
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