Plenty of positives for Unnati despite loss to Li

Plenty of positives for Unnati despite loss to Li Published – August 19, 2026 11: 55 pm IST – NEW DELHI.

Key points

• Unnati Hooda's World championships debut concluded in a three-game defeat (21-11, 19-21, 21-23) to 13th seed Michelle Li in the second round on Wednesday.
• The Canadian, was equally appreciative of the fight the 18-year-old brought to the contest.
• For a teenager making her Worlds debut, the defeat was a painful one.
• "I feel like in between two or three points, I made a few silly mistakes that shouldn't have been made, " the Indian remarked.
• I think she's particularly quick on her feet, and she's secured great shots and she's a fighter.

Unnati Hooda's World championships debut concluded in a three-game defeat (21-11, 19-21, 21-23) to 13th seed Michelle Li in the second round on Wednesday. She took the opening game comfortably, but the deciding game went down to the wire, with Unnati admitting that a handful of errors proved costly.

"I feel like in between two or three points, I made a few silly mistakes that shouldn't have been made, " the Indian remarked. "Since she's World No. 13, I think that's why the silly mistakes were particularly few in the critical moments. And whenever she had the chance, she just took it. I have to learn this from playing against the higher-ranked players, " she continued.

Meanwhile, the Canadian, was equally appreciative of the fight the 18-year-old brought to the contest.

"She's particularly talented, lots of potential. I think she's particularly quick on her feet, and she's secured great shots and she's a fighter. Today she played really well.I had to grind pretty hard to pull out the win, " she remarked. For Unnati, the match additionally offered plenty of positives.

"I controlled well with the dribble, I adjusted well and. My net game has really improved from my past, " she remarked. She additionally felt that she "was a bit more patient" than in her previous games, sticking to her plan and changing it when the Canadian adapted. In the final game, she forgot "for one second that there is a drift on that side of the court, " while she considered a flick serve at one stage but eventually chose against it since she felt both of their "smashes were going really good."

For a teenager making her Worlds debut, the defeat was a painful one. Nevertheless, Unnati was richer by the experience and the knowledge of the fine margins required at the top level.

Taken together, the developments around plenty of positives for Unnati despite loss to Li point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.