Tanvi Sharma competes in the final of the BWF World Junior Championships; assured of historical medal | Badminton News – The Times of India

A day after ensuring she would leave the BWF World Junior Championships at the National Center of Excellence in Guwahati with a medal, Tanvi Sharma assured that it would at least be a silver. In the semifinals on Saturday, she defeated China’s Liu Si Ya 15-11, 15-9, sealing her spot in the gold medal match.Before Tanvi, only two Indians – Aparna Popat (1996) and Saina Nehwal (2006, 2008) – had reached the women’s singles final of the tournament. Popat had won silver, while Nehwal had won silver (2006) and gold (2008) during their runs to the title clash.Overall, Tanvi is the fifth Indian to reach the final of the BWF World Junior Championships after Popat (1996), Nehwal (2006, 2008), Siril Verma (2015) and Sankar Muthuswamy (2002).Tanvi will face Thailand’s Anyapat Phichitpreechasak, who defeated compatriot Yataweemin Ketklieng 10-15, 15-11, 15-5.The top-seeded 16-year-old Tanvi had also won a bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships earlier this year.In other events, India’s hopes of another medal in women’s singles were dashed as eighth seed Unnati Hooda crashed out in the quarter-finals against second seed Phichitpreechasak of Thailand on Friday.The same day, in the boys’ singles quarterfinals, Gnana Dattu put up a strong fight against third seed Liu Yang Ming Yu of China, but his spirited effort was not enough to avoid a 15-11, 15-13 loss.The mixed doubles combination of Bhavya Chhabra and Vishakha Toppo also fell short in the quarter-finals against Taipei’s Hung Bing Fu and Chou Yun An 15-9, 15-7.