BWF World Junior Championships: Tanvi Sharma among five Indians one win away from securing medal

Tanvi Sharma made a backhand return and stepped forward, only to watch China’s Sun Li Yuan lift the shuttle and send it past the Indian towards the end of the second game. It was the only moment where the home favourite was caught off-guard in an otherwise clinical 15-8, 15-5 victory in the round of 16 of the BWF World Junior Championships in Guwahati on Thursday.

Tanvi’s result meant India can secure five medals on Friday. Unnati Hooda and Tankara Gnana Dattu Talasila in singles, the mixed doubles pair of Bhavya Chhabra and Vishakha Toppo, and the boys’ doubles duo of Bhargav Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gobburu will also play their respective quarterfinals.

Top seed Tanvi showed no signs of nerves against Sun, who made her debut at the international stage, and dictated terms from first to last point. She repeatedly pushed Sun to the back of the court before ending the point with a drop shot. The Indian will hope to make amends for last year’s quarterfinal exit when she takes on Japan’s Saki Matsumoto.

Unnati Hooda faced early resistance but picked a rather straightforward win in the round of 16.
| Photo Credit:
Ritu Raj Konwar

Unnati overcame a 3-9 deficit in the opener to take down Malaysia’s Carine Tee 15-10, 15-7, a player who relied solely on defence and an occasional drop shot. The Indian will be up against second-seeded Thai, Anyapat Phichitpreechasak, for a place in the semifinals.

However, Rakshitha Sree Santhosh Ramraj went down 11-15, 9-15 to Sri Lanka’s Ranithma Liyanage in a physical battle lasting 33 minutes.

Talasila survived a late charge from explosive American Garret Tan and converted his fourth match point to secure a 15-12, 15-13 win. “I knew if I played well, I would come this far, and now, I feel more motivated since I am the only Indian left (in boys’ singles), and everything is on me,” said the 17-year-old Hyderabadi, who has a tough opponent in third-seeded Chinese Liu Yang Ming Yu next.

Vishakha Toppo and Bhavya Chhabra are in reckoning to become the first Indian doubles pair to medal at the Junior Worlds.
| Photo Credit:
Ritu Raj Konwar

India’s hopes of a first-ever medal in doubles also stayed alive with Bhayva-Vishakha and Bhargav-Viswa pairs registering comeback wins, much to the delight of the sparse crowd at the National Centre of Excellence.

Riding high on confidence and inspired by their seniors Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, Bhargav and Viswa face reigning Asian Junior champions Chen Jun Ting and Liu Jun Rong in the last-eight fixture.

The run of Bhavya and Vishakha, the biggest surprise from an Indian perspective, has Chinese Taipei’s Hung Bing Fu and Chou Yun An as the next obstacle.

Published on Oct 16, 2025