( Manraj Singh and Tanvi Sharma. PC- Revsportz)
Abhishek Mishra in Lucknow
In Lucknow on Wednesday, the spotlight at the Syed Modi India International Badminton Championship 2025 belonged to 16-year-old Tanvi Sharma. The 2025 Junior World Championships silver medallist and US Open runner-up stunned Japan’s former world champion and World No. 1 Nozomi Okuhara, winning 13–21, 21–16, 21–19 to enter the quarterfinals.
Tanvi walked into the BBD UP Badminton Complex looking calm, sitting quietly in a corner with her earphones in as she listened to music to settle her nerves before one of the biggest matches of her young career. She showed the same calmness and composure on court as well.
The young Indian shuttler lost the first game 13–21 as she attempted cross-court smashes from the baseline, made several unforced errors, and handed Okuhara easy points.
In the second game, Tanvi returned to court relying on her power and basics. She initially pushed Okuhara to the backcourt, made her work hard for every point, and drained the Japanese star before outclassing her with smart half-court smashes. Showing brilliant tactical maturity, she took the game 21–16.
“After the first game, the coach (Park Tae-sang) told me to just give my best without thinking of winning or losing,” said Tanvi, who hails from Hoshiarpur in Punjab. “So I stopped overthinking and focused only on playing, and that worked.”
The decider was tight. Tanvi displayed superb deception with sharp placements and strong cross-court smashes to lead 11–6 at the interval. She extended her lead to 20–17, earning three match points. Okuhara made a brief comeback and saved two, but the young Indian held her nerve to seal the match and cruise into the last eight of the Super 300 event.
Reflecting on her victory, Tanvi said, “I didn’t expect that I would defeat Nozomi Okuhara. I just wanted to play my best and give my all.”
On the pressure of facing someone with such a stellar resume, she said, “Playing against a former world champion is tough. She’s a rally player, and by the last few points I was very tired, but I stayed calm and kept fighting.
“Pressure will always be there, especially after a big win, so it’s important for me to calm my nerves and focus on the game.”
For Tanvi, switching between the junior and senior circuits has been challenging, but she believes she has improved significantly.
“Balancing juniors and seniors is tough, and the Super Series will be even harder,” she said. “I know I have a lot to improve and a long way to go.”
Manraj Causes a Huge Upset
Twenty-year-old Manraj Singh stunned seasoned pro HS Prannoy in straight games, winning 21–15, 21–18. The Haryana youngster relied on his attacking skills to outclass the 2023 Asian Games medallist, securing the biggest win of his career.
“I’m feeling very good,” said Manraj, who trains at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bangalore. “This is the biggest win of my career. I’m happy that I could play with him and even happier that I won. I tried to keep him at the net more, and that’s where I got most of my points.”
Other Results
In the men’s singles, apart from Kidambi Srikanth, Priyanshu Rajawat and Mithun Manjunath also progressed to the last eight.
In the women’s singles, Tanvi Sharma, Unnati Hooda, Isharani Baruah and Rakshita Ramraj delivered strong performances to march into the next round.
In the men’s doubles, the pair of A Hariharan and MR Arjun enjoyed smooth sailing into the next round.
In the women’s doubles, the duo of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly enjoyed a solid outing and stormed into the quarterfinals.
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