Tanvi Sharma reaches final of BWF World Junior Championships, secures medal
Tanvi Sharma triumphed over Liu Si Ya 15-11, 15-9 to reach the final of the YONEX SUNRISE BWF World Junior Championships 2025. The 16-year-old now aims to win India’s first-ever women’s junior title, after becoming the first female medalist in 17 years
Hyderabad: Tanvi Sharma produced a near-perfect performance against China’s Liu Si Ya to reach the finals of the YONEX SUNRISE BWF World Junior Championships 2025 at the National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati on Saturday.
The 16-year-old Indian followed in the footsteps of compatriots Aparna Popat and former world No. 1 Saina Nehwal to become only the third Indian female player to reach the summit clash of the world junior championships, registering a clinical 15-11, 15-9 win over Asian Junior Championships silver medalist Liu in just over half an hour.
The top-seeded Indian will now face second-seeded Anyapat Phichitpreechasak of Thailand, who fought back from a game down to beat compatriot Yataweemin Ketklieng 10-15, 15-11, 15-5 in the other semifinal.
Having already secured a world junior championships medal, making her the first Indian female player to do so in 17 years, Tanvi came out all guns blazing in the semifinal against Liu from the very first point. The Indian went for winners early in the exchanges and wasn’t afraid to play late flicks and sharp cross-court pushes from the front court, keeping her opponent guessing.
The strategy worked wonderfully as she opened up a 7-3 lead in the opening game. Although Liu managed to close the gap at 8-7, Tanvi never looked under pressure.
She continued to raise the tempo of the rallies, not allowing Liu to settle into any rhythm, and wrapped up the opening game with her trademark cross-court smash in just 13 minutes.
With the opening game already in her pocket, Tanvi became even more comfortable going for her shots, quickly opening up a 12-4 lead in the second game. It was at this stage that she made her first real mistakes, hitting a net tap. A flurry of errors allowed Liu to earn four quick points before Tanvi stopped that run with another perfectly weighted down-the-line smash on the Chinese player’s serve.
Tanvi, who has been training at the NCE for almost a year now, continued to move her opponent all around the court and even scored points with cross-court drives while countering Liu’s smashes. She sealed her finals spot when Liu pushed a forehand drive wide.
“I was feeling very comfortable today, and I am very happy with the way I played. It was only in the second game at 12-4 that I made a few mistakes, but my coach told me to focus on playing my strokes slightly inside the lines, and it worked,” said Tanvi, who is now aiming to follow in Saina’s footsteps and clinch the world junior title on home turf.
Earlier, boys’ singles top seed Mohd. Zaki Ubaidillah had to save three match points in the second game before beating China’s Li Zhi Hang 14-16, 16-14, 15-12 in a topsy-turvy battle that lasted for an hour.
Ubaidillah kept his nose ahead throughout the decider despite Li threatening to turn the tables by closing the gap from 13-7 to 13-12. However, the Indonesian relied on his smashes to seal the final spot.