New Delhi: While she couldn’t steer India past the quarter-finals at the Badminton Asia Junior Mixed Team Championships in Solo, Indonesia, last week, 16-year-old Tanvi Sharma is poised to make a significant individual impact. The current junior world No. 1 is set to compete at the Manahan Indoor Sports Hall as one of the favorites for the singles title, riding on a wave of remarkable form.
The Punjab native, whose idol is PV Sindhu, has been making rapid strides in her game by adopting a more aggressive style. Her recent achievements include reaching the women’s singles final at the US Open, a Super 300 event, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, just last month. There, she overcame several higher-ranked opponents before ultimately falling to seasoned former top-10 player Beiwen Zhang of the US, but not before taking a game off her.
“To be honest, I did not expect to take a game off her. She is a very good player and very experienced. I just thought of giving my best,” the 16-year-old told HT. “I was matching the pace (of my opponents) the entire week. In the final, I was a little nervous and committed unforced errors. But yeah, I played well. From my opponents, I learnt how focused they are in the game, how they manage their schedule. I also learnt a lot from Beiwen’s quality of strokes.”
This was not Tanvi’s sole final appearance this year; she also triumphed at the Denmark Challenge in May, defeating numerous higher-ranked players. Last year, she reached the Odisha Masters final and secured the Bonn International title.
Her consistent progress has propelled her to world No. 51 in the senior rankings, achieving a career-best No. 50 on June 30. This is a notable accomplishment, considering she wasn’t even in the top 100 at the beginning of the year.
Tanvi, who began playing badminton at the age of five, attributes her significant advancements to key changes in her game. She trained at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad from 2016 to 2021 before returning to her hometown of Hoshiarpur during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2024, Tanvi’s mother, Meena, sent her to the new Badminton Association of India (BAI) National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati.
Beyond the presence of her elder sister Radhika in Guwahati, a crucial factor in Tanvi’s move to Assam was the opportunity to train under South Korean coach Park Tae-sang. Park famously coached PV Sindhu from 2019 to 2023, guiding her to a bronze medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
“Park introduced many changes. I have started playing a more attacking game now. Earlier, I used to play a normal retrieving game. I have also improved my deceptive and net game. Earlier, I was good in defence, but the coach has changed my attacking game. Now, I’m more aggressive,” Tanvi revealed. “My smashes and deceptive drop shots have really improved, they have become an advantage for me. Earlier, I used to get nervous during a match. Now, I don’t. I am slowly getting better in everything.”
While it’s still early in her career, many, including seasoned commentator Gill Clark, have drawn comparisons between Tanvi’s game and that of her idol, PV Sindhu. Tanvi’s dream of being on the same team as Sindhu came true when both were part of the Indian women’s team that clinched the Asia Team Championships in February 2024.
“I love Sindhu didi’s aggression on court and attacking game. During the Asian Team Championships, I stuck around her, watched her matches, observed how she prepared and all that. It was a very good experience for me. She told me I was doing well and to just continue doing it.”
In addition to the junior Asian title, Park has set a target for Tanvi to break into the top 25 at the senior level, as she will continue to compete in both junior and senior events. “The junior Worlds is also important for him and me. We are focusing on that too,” Tanvi added.
Tanvi, seeded second, has received a first-round bye at the Junior Asian Championships, setting her up for a strong campaign.