From watching Shin-chan, Doraemon and K-dramas to translating shuttle words for the world: How young performers found their way to badminton’s biggest stage

The 30th edition of the BWF World Championships 2026 was held from August 17 to August 23 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, India. (TOI) NEW DELHI: At the recently concluded BWF World Championship, players weighed every word as carefully as their drop shots. But behind the glare of the cameras, another competition was quietly unfolding. Interpreters stood a step behind the athletes, almost invisible, yet bearing the immense responsibility of ensuring that the nuances survived the journey from Mandarin, Japanese or Korean to English.At the World Cup, where every word can travel as fast as a sledgehammer, a mistranslated phrase can soften convictions, distort the meaning of an entire exchange or, at worst, spark unwanted geopolitical controversy. For interpreters, getting the right words is just part of their job. The real challenge is making sure nothing gets lost in translation.Chaavi Raj, one of three Mandarin interpreters, immediately felt the pressure when local hope Ayush Shetty stunned world number one and defending champion Shi Yu Qi in the opening round.“There was a lot of pressure. There were so many media houses. My first match was against Ayush Shetty. China lost. It was a big upset,” explained the third-year PhD student in Chinese studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University.It was a daunting first assignment for 29-year-old Raj. He has worked for businesses, exhibitions, tourists and ministries. Sports and media were new territory.

Like India where there are multiple dialects, Chinese varies with region, context and tone. It was hard at first. It is a pictographic language. You have to remember it. That’s the Mandarin challenge.

Chaavi Raj | Mandarin translator for the BWF World Championships

Hailing from Bihar’s Sitamarhi district, Raj has been studying Chinese for five years and traveled to Beijing on a visiting scholarship. After his first preference, Spanish, did not materialize, he shifted his focus to Mandarin and majored in Chinese language and cultural studies.“Like India where there are multiple dialects, Chinese changes with region, context and tone. It was difficult at first. It’s a pictorial language. You have to memorize it. That’s the challenge of Mandarin,” he explained.“It’s a tonal language. If the tone changes, the meaning changes. It’s very easy to forget. It’s hard to remember. We watch videos to stay in touch. We watch web series and movies. We talk to our Chinese friends. We do all this to stay in touch with the language,” he added.

Notebook of a Chinese interpreter. (Special arrangements)

The BWF brought three of its own interpreters to the tournament, while the Badminton Association of India (BAI) recruited another three through a PR firm and an outside contractor.Sahin Parween and Nandini were two of the other interpreters BAI attracted. A recent graduate of JNU’s School of Languages, Literature and Culture, Parween first became interested in Japanese culture while watching animated series such as Doraemon and Shin-chan. Her interest was reinforced later in life when anime found its feet in India. The fact that Japanese is a high-salary language in India also played a role, he admits almost sheepishly.“We get paid between Rs 4,000 and Rs 10,000 per day. Korean and Japanese generally pay better when you compare them to Western languages. The rate can even go up to $200 (Rs 19,000) or more,” says Parween, who graduated just a month ago.

When we found out there was a tournament going on, we looked up what it was all about. We then looked for vocabulary and questions that the media might ask. Then we prepared for what the players could answer to these questions.

Nandini | Korean translator

Like Parween, Nandini’s journey into Korean was similarly shaped by pop culture. After learning the language in 2018, she became interested in K-pop and K-dramas. Perhaps unsurprisingly, language was already part of her life: her father speaks 13 Indian languages.Still relatively new to the profession, the pair spent the days training ahead of the World Cup, which returns to India after 17 years.“When we found out the tournament was happening, we looked for what it was about. Then we looked for vocabulary and questions that the media might ask. Then we prepared for what the players could answer to us. Still, there was some nervousness,” explained Nandini, who is a third-year BA student in Korean language and culture.Before being assigned to the World Cup, they applied when ambassadors or exchange students visited JNU. Both also make the most of opportunities to meet Japanese, Koreans and Chinese in university discussions.

South Korea’s An Se Young spoke to the media after one of her matches at the BWF World Championships in New Delhi. (TOI.com)

However, this was a completely different challenge.“It’s a lot of pressure when you know the player is solely relying on you. When a question is asked, they look at our faces and it’s on us. And we have to explain it in the right way,” says Nandini.For the youngsters, the pressure was complicated by another fact: they often interpreted for players they admired.“At the same time, we’re also fans of them. Sometimes we just disappear because we’re so busy processing, well, ‘seeing them in real life’. When we’re interpreting, it also happens that when we ask or say something, we might know the word, but we just get out of our nerves. So we find another way to say it,” she said.“There are times when we feel like we could have done better. There are times when we’re not sure of the most appropriate word. But at the end of the day, we’re also learning,” she continued.

We see the videos beforehand, the interviews they gave in Chinese. Then we prepare the words. We see which words can be used well. We also use AI to help. We give prompts for the tool to go through the videos and suggest which words and vocabulary are repeated the most. Sometimes we write it down, sometimes we take notes.

Chaavi Raj | Mandarin translator

Choosing the right word can be the difference between a routine interview and a diplomatic incident. During the Cold War, disputed translations of remarks by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and a notorious mistranslation of US President Jimmy Carter’s 1977 speech in Poland became famous examples of how a few misplaced words can distort meaning.Mandarin interpreter Chaavi Raj understands the importance of every word in his preparations. His doctoral studies focus on China-US relations and the perception of former US diplomat and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. It is prepared by studying archival footage of previous player interviews. AI tools are increasingly becoming part of this preparation.“We see the videos in advance, the interviews they gave in Chinese. Then we prepare the words. We see which words can be used well. We also use the help of AI. We give prompts for the tool to go through the videos and suggest which words and vocabulary are repeated the most. Sometimes we write it down, sometimes we take notes,” Raj explains his process.“It’s very important to get it right. You can’t take any chances at such a big event where there could be a diplomatic incident,” he says, showing his notebook full of Chinese characters, or Hanzi.By the time the last microphone is lowered and the player disappears into the lounge, the interpreters have already receded into the background. Their names rarely appear on-air or on the sidelines, yet every headline, quote and television soundbite owes something to their accuracy. In a sport decided by millimeters, it’s another game of fine lines: finding the right word, preserving meaning, and making sure nothing gets lost between the player and the world.