Tanvi, Vennala assure India of first-ever double in women’s singles

Tanvi Sharma and Vennala Kalagotla assured India’s first-ever double medal in women’s singles at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships, both advancing to the semifinals with impressive victories over top competitors

Solo (Indonesia): Indian shuttlers Tanvi Sharma and Vennala Kalagotla assured the country of two medals after storming into the singles semifinals at the Badminton Asia Junior Individual Championships here on Friday.

With both shuttlers assured of at least a bronze, India has secured an unprecedented two women’s singles medals in a single edition of the tournament.

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Second seed Tanvi maintained her dominant form by defeating fifth seed Thalita Ramadhani Wiryawan of Indonesia 21-19, 21-14 in a swift 35-minute quarterfinal.

Tanvi has been in sublime touch throughout the tournament, securing all her wins in straight games so far.

Joining her in the last four is Vennala, who braved a strong challenge from Thailand’s Janyaporn Meepanthong to claim a 21-18, 17-21, 21-17 victory.

Vennala took the opening game 21-18 with some sharp rallies, but Janyaporn fought back to edge the second 21-17, forcing the match into a decider.

In the final game, Vennala pulled ahead in the closing stages, eventually sealing a three-game victory to earn her semifinal berth.

Both Indians now face Chinese opponents in the semifinals, with Tanvi set to take on eighth seed Yin Yi Qing and Vennala going up against Liu Si Ya.