BWF Junior World Championships Review: Tanvi Sharma’s silver, a historic team bronze and new scoring formats

The National Centre of Excellence (NCE) in Guwahati has been home to the cream of India’s next generation of badminton stars for over two years. Adding another feather to its cap, the venue hosted some of the most talented shuttlers from across the world during the BWF World Junior Championships, held from October 6-19.

Hosting the event for the first time since Pune 2008 played its part as the Indian contingent clinched a historic maiden team bronze. In the individual events, Junior World No. 1 Tanvi Sharma ended a 17-year wait for a medal in the girls’ singles by winning silver.

Team bronze for the ages

The Badminton Association of India (BAI) selected 25 players from 13 states — one of its most diverse squads ever — following the World Junior Championships selection trials at the NCE in August.

The group then underwent a three-week preparatory camp under Korean Park Tae-seng (singles), Russian Ivan Sozonov (doubles) and Indian coaches.

With the likes of Tanvi and Unnati Hooda — both of whom have already shown tremendous potential at the senior level — a medal was always within reach in the mixed team event, called the Suhandinata Cup, held from October 6-11.

The tournament introduced an updated relay scoring system, making matches more exciting. Each tie followed a best-of-three games format, with the first side to reach 45 points winning the game. A game comprised five matches — boys’ singles, girls’ singles, mixed doubles, boys’ doubles and girls’ doubles. Each match was played until one side scored nine points, after which the next began, continuing from the same cumulative score. The game concluded once a team reached the 45-point mark.

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“We took feedback and suggested first-to-11 instead of nine points per match,” said Sanjay Mishra, BAI General Secretary, after the tournament. “This is mainly being planned for the Sudirman Cup (the senior mixed team event held every two years). If the Sudirman Cup has 21 points (per game) and best-of-five matches, the tie goes on for six-seven hours. It’s difficult for the audience to wait. To reduce the time, this is being planned. Maybe, it will be done in the next cycle.”

Placed in Group H, India cruised into the knockout stage with 2-0 wins over Sri Lanka, the UAE and Nepal, while rotating six of its eight singles players and experimenting with different doubles pairings.

After conceding the opening game to Korea in the quarterfinals, Sozonov used the substitution rule to replace Viswa Tej Gobburu with C. Lalramsanga, who paired up with Bhargav Ram Arigela in the boys’ doubles. The move paid off, as the Bhargav–Lalramsanga duo gave the team winning starts in the next two games, making the job easier for the rest of the squad. India defeated Korea 44-45, 45-40, 45-33 to secure a semifinal spot and a medal. Unlike in 2008, there was no bronze-medal play-off.

Indonesia, however, ended India’s dream run with a comprehensive 45-34, 45-21 win in the semifinal. China survived a scare to edge Japan 45-42, 38-45, 45-42 in the other one.

In the summit clash, China avenged last year’s loss to Indonesia, winning 45-30, 45-44 to clinch a record-extending 15th title.

Tanvi breaks the singles barrier

After a day’s rest, it was every player and pair for themselves as the individual leg got underway.

Even in this segment, a new scoring format was trialled as part of the Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) broader testing and analysis programme. Each match followed a best-of-three games format, with each game played to 15 points. If the score reached 14-all, a two-point lead was required to win a game. At 20-all, sudden death came into play.

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Players accustomed to the conventional 21-points-per-game format had mixed views on the trial. While some felt it encouraged a more aggressive approach, others found that recovering from a slow start became more difficult. The early rounds, which featured several one-sided contests, saw some matches barely last 10 minutes. Overall, only seven fixtures lasted between 50 and 60 minutes, while three crossed the hour mark — the longest being a girls’ doubles quarterfinal that stretched to one hour and 18 minutes. The shorter duration reduced physical strain on the players.

The BWF will gather data from further trials before deciding at its Annual General Meeting in April 2026 whether to implement the format across all levels.

Of India’s 18 entries across five categories, five reached the quarterfinals — Bhargav–Viswa (boys’ doubles), Bhavya Chhabra–Vishakha Toppo (mixed doubles), Tankara Gnana Dattu Talasila (boys’ singles), Tanvi and Unnati (girls’ singles) — but only Tanvi progressed beyond that stage.

The runs of Andhra duo Bhargav and Viswa (playing together since the age of 13) and Delhi’s Bhavya and Odisha’s Vishakha, who paired up for the first time in an international event, show how the next generation of Indians are taking doubles more seriously under Sozonov’s guidance. The success of the country’s top men’s pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, has clearly inspired the next generation.

Top seed Tanvi, who idolises former World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei for her strokeplay and deception, was at her fluent best in a 15-11, 15-9 semifinal win over China’s Liu Si Ya. However, Thailand’s Anyapat Phichitpreechasak — who had earlier beaten Unnati in the quarterfinals — denied Tanvi the chance to become only the second Indian gold medallist after Saina Nehwal (2008), prevailing 15-7, 15-12 in the final. The 16-year-old from Hoshiarpur later admitted she needed to sharpen her strokes and build greater endurance and patience.

Guided by former Olympic and World Champion Chen Long, China’s Liu Yang Ming Yu defeated top-seeded Indonesian Mohd Zaki Ubaidillah 15-10, 15-11 to claim the boys’ singles crown. China also won both the boys’ and girls’ doubles titles, reaffirming its might as badminton’s Asian powerhouse.

Rigorous regimen pays off

The Guwahati facility, where Tanvi and 47 other shuttlers currently train, houses 16 courts, a 4,000 sq ft gymnasium equipped with modern fitness tools, a 60-bed hostel and a 2,000 sq ft physiotherapy centre.

Every night, after 9.30 p.m., the players’ mobile phones are collected by the hostel warden. “The warden has the parents’ contacts. If there’s any emergency, players can call them; otherwise, the phone will be a distraction,” said Mishra.

Even players from Guwahati must stay in the hostel. No one is allowed to order food from outside, and outings are permitted just once a week.

The idea behind these measures is to micro-manage the players’ development — from sleep cycles and diet to recovery after training. “Our next plan is to increase the capacity to 100 so that we can focus on more players,” Mishra added.

A significant stepping stone

What does it mean to be a Junior World Champion? The answer differs across generations.

Some shuttlers develop rapidly and do not need a junior title to propel them at the senior level. Saina’s 2008 triumph came just three months after she had already reached the Olympic quarterfinals in Beijing. On the other hand, Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn, a three-time Junior World Champion (2017–19), won his first major senior medal — a silver — at the 2022 Senior World Championships before clinching gold a year later.

For others, the transition proves more challenging, and their success at the Junior Worlds remains the defining moment of their career.

Honours board

Mixed Team:

Gold: China, Silver: Indonesia, Bronze: India & Japan

Girls’ Singles:

Gold: Anyapat Phichitpreechasak (Tha), Silver: Tanvi Sharma, Bronze: Liu Si Ya (China) & Yataweemin Ketklieng (Tha)

Boys’ Singles:

Gold: Liu Yang Ming Yu (Chn), Silver: Mohd. Zaki Ubaidillah (Ina), Bronze: Li Zhi Hang (Chn) & Richie Duta Richardo (Ina)

Mixed Doubles:

Gold: Lee Hyeong Woo & Cheon Hye In (Kor), Silver: Hung Bing Fu & Chou Yun An (Tpe), Bronze: Chen Jun Ting & Cao Zi Han (Chn), Loh Ziheng & Noraqilah Maisarah (Mas)

Girls’ Doubles:

Gold: Tan Ke Xuan & Yue Yue Wei (Chn), Silver: Zi Yu Low & Noraqilah Maisarah (Mas), Bronze: Kodchaporn Chaichana & Pannawee Polyiam (Tha), Cao Zi Han & Chen Fan Shu Tian (Chn)

Boys’ Doubles:

Gold: Chen Jun Ting & Liu Jun Rong (Chn), Silver: Cho Hyeong Woo & Lee Hyeong Woo (Kor), Bronze: Kazuma Kawano & Shuji Sawada (Jpn), Alexius Ongkytama Subagio & Aquino Evano Keneddy Tangka (Ina)

Published on Oct 23, 2025