Kunlavut Vitidsarn cruised into the quarter-finals of the BWF World Championships 2026 in New Delhi on Thursday, while Pornpawee Chochuwong battled her way into the last eight of the sport's showpiece event.
Former champion Kunlavut, who is also a two-time runner-up, defeated American teenager Garret Tan 21-10, 21-10 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.
The 92nd-ranked Tan made his mark at the championships with a stunning win over India's Lakshya Sen on Wednesday, but world No.2 Kunlavut proved too strong for the 18-year-old as he secured his last-eight berth after just 30 minutes.
Kunlavut, last year's finalist, will face either ninth seed Alex Lanier of France or Ng Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong in the men's singles quarter-finals on Friday.
In the women's singles last 16, Pornpawee Chochuwong came back from the brink to stun China's Chen Yufei in a three-game thriller.
Pornpawee was the last Thai player left in the women's singles event after Ratchanok Intanon's exit a day earlier and the No.10 seed kept Thai hopes alive after she battled back to beat Chen 15-21, 25-23, 21-17 in an hour and 24 minutes.
She will play former world champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the last eight.
Ratchanok retired in the second game of her last 32 match against Ishika Jaiswal of the US on Wednesday.
Earlier, mixed doubles pair Dechapol and Supissara survived a three-game test as the Thai fourth-seeded duo came from behind to defeat 13th seeds Yuichi Shimogami and Sayaka Hobara of Japan 17-21, 21-12, 21-17.
They will play French fifth seeds Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue in the quarter-finals.
Fellow Thais Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai bowed out after they lost to last year's runners-up Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin of China 12-21, 17-21.
Also, South Korea's world No.1 An Se-Young saw off Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark 21-16, 21-10 to continue her bid for a second world title.
Blichfeldt knocked out another Thai player Supanida Katethong on Wednesday.
Men's singles rising star Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul also crashed out on Wednesday, falling to Lanier 12-21, 13-21.