Top-seeded shuttler Tanvi Sharma scripted history on Saturday, advancing to the girls' singles final of the BWF World Junior Championships 2025 in Guwahati. The 16-year-old delivered a standout performance to defeat China’s Asian Junior Championships silver medallist, Liu Si Ya, in straight games, 15-11, 15-9. The semi-final victory, achieved in just 31 minutes, sets up a title clash with second seed Anyapat Phichitpreechasak of Thailand on Sunday.
Sharma's win makes her only the fifth Indian to ever reach the final of the World Junior Championships, joining Aparna Popat (1996), Saina Nehwal (2006, 2008), Siril Verma (2015), and Sankar Muthusamy (2022). By reaching the semi-final, she had already ended India's 17-year wait for a medal in the girls' singles event, the last being Saina Nehwal’s gold in 2008.
The semi-final performance was a marked improvement from her shaky, 47-minute quarterfinal win against Japan’s Saki Matsumoto. Sharma was dominant from the start, unleashing the powerful smashes her coach, Park Tae-seng, had urged her to use. "I was very comfortable today, so I was hitting on the line and it was going right in," Sharma said post-match. "I was thinking that I don't want to hit outside again. My coach just told play inside, whatever you want, just play inside, don't go for lines."
Coach Park Tae-seng revealed that the key to her sharp performance was strategic rest, as the team had skipped training rallies after her strenuous quarterfinal. "Yesterday her movement and face looked a bit tired... we said no training," Park stated. While praising her technical skill, he noted the need to build her on-court endurance. "Her aggression, back court and technical skill all very good, already at the senior level. But she has to still build endurance," Park added.
Sharma holds a 1-0 record against her final opponent, Phichitpreechasak, having beaten the Thai player at the 2023 Asian U-17 Championships. Other Indian medal hopes ended in the quarterfinals, with Unnati Hooda losing to Phichitpreechasak, and Gnana Dattu (boys' singles) and the mixed doubles pair of Bhavya Chhabra and Vishakha Toppo also bowing out.
