Tanvi Sharma enters quarterfinals after shocking former world champion Okuhara
Tanvi Sharma, 16, stunned former World No 1 Nozomi Okuhara in a thrilling three-game battle at the Syed Modi International 2025. The World Juniors silver medallist rallied to win 13-21, 21-16, 21-19, advancing to the quarterfinals
Hyderabad: The 16-year-old Tanvi Sharma lit up the third day of the Syed Modi International 2025 with a career-defining victory, shocking former World No 1, former World Champion and Olympic medallist Nozomi Okuhara in a gripping three-game battle in Lucknow on Thursday.
The World Juniors silver medallist showed remarkable grit, rallying from a game down to claim a memorable 13-21, 21-16, 21-19 win in just under an hour — the biggest result of her young career, sealing her place in the quarterfinals.
The upsets did not stop there. Isharani Baruah produced another strong performance, taking out eighth seed Polina Buhrova of Ukraine 21-15, 21-8. Top seed Unnati Hooda moved through comfortably with a 21-15, 21-10 win over Tasnim Mir, while Rakshitha Sree battled past Devika Sihag 16-21, 21-19, 21-17.
In men’s singles, the third day brought more surprises as Manraj Singh defeated third seed HS Prannoy 21-15, 21-18. Mithun Manjunath edged past sixth seed Tharun Mannepalli in a 21-16, 17-21, 21-7 contest, while former champion Kidambi Srikanth cruised past Saneeth Dayanand 21-6, 21-16.
Top-seeded women’s doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand continued their solid run, winning 21-17, 21-12 against Zenith Abbigail and Likhita Srivastava. Jolly also teamed up with Hariharan Amsakarunan to knock out second seeds Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde 24-22, 21-15 in mixed doubles. In men’s doubles, Hariharan and MR Arjun secured a quarterfinal spot with a confident 21-12, 21-18 win over Malaysia’s Lau Yi Sheng and Lim Tze Jian.
