Unnati Hooda shares father's ultimate sacrifice after winning BWF World Championship opener

Unnati Hooda began her BWF World Championships campaign with a straight-game victory over Myanmar’s Thet Htar Thuzar in New Delhi. The 18-year-old won 22-20, 21-16 and will now meet 13th seed Michelle Li of Canada in the next round.

Notably, the result was important for Unnati, but her thoughts after the match quickly moved towards her father, Upkar Hooda. A former university-level player, Upkar left his government college job to travel with his daughter and support her badminton career.

“I'm not forced (into badminton). Of course, definitely there is a massive contribution of my family and my dad. He quit his job as well. So I cannot say in words how much he has contributed to me, but yeah, I am really thankful that I have a great family who support me a lot,” Unnati told the press after her game.

Upkar was also present in her dugout during her World Championships debut. Meanwhile, Unnati has moved her training base to Chhotu Ram Stadium Badminton Academy in Rohtak, where she works with coach Parvesh Kumar, but her father continues to be closely involved in her career.

The teenager is also taking confidence from

. Shetty’s victory has reinforced her belief that rankings cannot decide what happens once a match begins.

"He (Shetty) is my good friend and he played really well yesterday. And definitely he won against the seeded number one here. So it really gives everyone confidence that just remember who you are and just give it all. On the court, there is one versus one and anybody can lose and anyone can win. So just believe in yourself,” Unnati said.

Unnati had to remain patient against Thuzar, particularly while dealing with the drift. She spent much of the opening game adjusting before taking control towards the end.

“In the first set, I was just trying to understand the drift and everything, but she was also playing, she was very good and all. It was going neck-and-neck, but yeah, I think in the last five points of the first game I controlled and stayed patient, and then she made some mistakes,” she said.

The Indian found her attacking game more effective from the other end in the second game and used that to close out the match.

“And then in the second game, I was able to see that from that end of the court, the attack is going faster, so I just played my game, attacking, and it helped me to stick to the plan,” she added.