Indian shuttlers sweep opening day at BWF World Junior Championships 2025

Tankara Gnana Dattu Talasila’s error-strewn opener in a 5-15, 15-7, 15-7 win over Milan Mesterhazy was the only blip on an otherwise perfect opening day for India at the BWF World Junior Championships in Guwahati.

Up against Mesterhazy, a left-handed Hungarian, a nervous Gnana Dattu kept going for rally-ending jump-smashes, only to find the net on multiple occasions. 

Once he calmed down, the Hungarian was hardly a match for him. A delicate crosscourt winner from the Indian at the net at 11-5 in the second game had his opponent and the sparse crowd at the National Centre of Excellence applauding him.

Gnana Dattu, who led 8-3 at the mid-game interval in the decider, duly converted his third match-point with a smash down the line.

BWF is testing a best-of-three games format with each game played to 15 points at this event as part of its broader testing and analysis programme. 

The first round, perhaps due to a lot of lop-sided match-ups, had multiple matches finishing so quickly that an ardent supporter could not be blamed for unintentionally missing his favourite player in action. Japan’s Yuzuno Watanabe’s 15-1, 15-0 win over Nepal’s Nistha Shrestha – the most-one sided contest – ended in 11 minutes. Surprisingly, it was still a minute longer than the shortest match of the day.

H Lalthazuala and Vennala Kalagotla, the other Indians in action in singles, progressed to the second round with 15-4, 15-4 victory over Ugandan Denis Mukasa and 15-1, 15-6 win over Ireland’s Siofra Flynn, respectively. 

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Three Indian pairs in mixed doubles registered straight-game wins, ensuring the full quota of host nation’s entries, including the ones who received byes such as top seed Tanvi Sharma, will be in action in the second round on a packed Tuesday.

Published on Oct 13, 2025