Tanvi Sharma has scripted history at the BWF Junior World Championship in Guwahati. On Saturday, October 18, she won the semi-finals match against China’s Liu Si Ya after defeating her in sets of 15-11 and 15-9 to get into the finals. The player has broken India’s 17-year wait for a women’s singles title in the tournament and is the first confirmed of the ongoing 2025 edition.
The 16-year-old is the third female Indian badminton player to confirm a medal in the tournament after Aparna Popat, who won a silver in 1988, and Saina Nehwal, who has two medals, including one silver in 2006 and a gold in 2008. Overall she is the fifth Indian player to reach the final BWF World Junior Championships after male players Siril Verma (2015) and Sankar Muthuswamy (2002) and females Popat and Nehwal.
As she advanced into the finals, Tanvi will next face off against Thailand’s Anyapat Phichitpreechasak in the finals game, who qualified after defeating Yataweemin Ketklieng by sets of 10-15, 15-11, and 15-5.
Held at the National Centre of Excellence, Tanvi’s road to the finals started from the pre-quarterfinals match, where she defeated Indonesia’s Oei Winarto by 15-12, 15-7 in the girls’ singles event.
The next match was the quarterfinal round held on Friday, where she defeated Japan’s Saki Matsumoto by 13-15, 15-9, and 15-10 in a 46-minute match.
Expressing her emotions on bringing a confirmed medal for India after defeating the Japanese player, Tanvi said, “It is difficult to play against Matsumoto as she slows down the game. So, I knew that I had to be aggressive. I am happy that I am assured of a medal.”
Earlier this year, Tanvi won a bronze medal in the Badminton Asia Junior Championships 2025.
Other Indian participants at BWF
India failed to secure any other medal, losing their players in the quarter-finals. In the women’s singles, eighth-seeded Unnati Hooda failed to qualify after losing the match in 32 minutes against Thailand’s Phichitpreechasak on Friday by 12-15, 13-15. Unnati is the youngest Indian badminton player with a Super 100 title won at the 2022 Odisha Open and was also a member of the 2022 Uber Cup squad.
In the boys’ singles, India’s Gnana Dattu went down after putting up a strong match against China’s Liu Yang Ming Yu, losing by 15-11, 15-13.
Finally, in the mixed doubles event, the duo of Bhavya Chhabra and Vishakha Toppo fell short to Chinese Taipei’s pair of Hung Bing Fu and Chou Yun An by a 15-9, 15-7 loss.
