Guwahati, Oct 15 (IANS) Top seed Tanvi Sharma, eighth seed Unnati Hooda, and 10th seed Rakshitha Sree Ramraj overcame some anxious moments before hitting their strides to ease into the pre-quarterfinals of the BWF World Junior Championships 2025, here at the National Center of Excellence on Wednesday.
Tanvi defeated Oei Winarto of Indonesia 15-12, 15-7, Unnati beat Alice Wang of the United States 15-8, 15-5, and Rakshitha came from a game down to beat Singapore’s Aaliyah Zakaria 11-15, 15-5, 15-8.
While the girls continued their march towards a possible medal, only Gnana Dattu TT will carry India’s hopes in the boys’ singles category after he got the better of 15th seed Suryaksh Rawat 11-15, 15-6, 15-11 in an all-Indian round of 32.
Also advancing to the next round was the mixed doubles combination of Bhavya Chhabra and Vishakha Toppo. The 14th-seeded Indian combination had to quell a late fight back from Denmark’s Aske Romer and Jasmin Willis to register a 15-13, 15-11.
India have fielded a 25-member contingent in the BWF World Junior Championships at home, with the girls’ singles players considered favourites to add to the tally of 11 individual medals so far in the history of the competition.
The junior World No. 1 Tanvi was the first to take the court on Wednesday and looked like she was in complete control of the situation as she opened up a 9-4 lead against Winarto. But errors began to creep in, and the Indonesians bagged eight points in a row before Tanvi clinched the next six to pocket the opening game. The second game was a lop-sided affair as the Indians dominated the exchanges.
“At the start of the first game, I was playing well. 9-4, 9-5, I was winning easily. Suddenly, I started making unforced errors. My coach then asked me to play rallies, and then I won…. The drift was a little tricky today; otherwise, I was comfortable,” said Tanvi, who will now face Chinese newcomer Li Yuan Sun for a place in the quarterfinals. In the third round, Li upset ninth seed Liao Jui-Chi 15-12, 15-12.
A few hours later, Rakshitha also struggled with the conditions and an unknown opponent. She made a plethora of errors, allowing Zakaria to open up a 2-12 lead. The 18-year-old did manage to close the gap thereafter, but it was too little too late.
However, with the momentum firmly in her favour, Rakshitha then took control of the proceedings and won the next two games rather easily to wrap up the match in 32 minutes.
“At the start, I took time to understand the court and also how my opponent was playing. Also, this 15-point game is new to us. When she reached 8 points, it was like a huge lead, and I felt the pressure. But then I scored 6-7 points and gained confidence. After that, it was easy,” said Rakshitha, who will now face Sri Lankan fourth seed Ranithma Liyanage. Ranithma defeated Malaysia’s Ler Qi Eng 15-9, 15-12 to advance to the pre-quarterfinals.
In the boys’ singles, Gnana Dattu came back from a game down to beat his higher-ranked compatriot. The 17-year-old, who was struggling with a Lat muscle pull in the run-up to the individual tournament, took his time to get going against Suryaksh. However, once he found his rhythm, the former Asian U-17 bronze medallist was in complete control.
Later, Rounak put up a strong fight against China’s Li Zhi Hang but could not avoid an 11-15, 12-15 loss.
Indian results:
Boys’ singles:
Gnana Dattu TT bt 15-Suryaksh Rawat 11-15, 15-6, 15-11; 11-Rounak Chouhan lost to Li Zhi Hang (China) 11-15, 12-15; Lalthazuala Hmar lost to 14-Riyan Malhan (UAE) 13-15, 6-15
Women’s singles:
1-Tanvi Sharma bt Oei Winarto (Indonesia) 15-12, 15-7; 8-Unnati Hooda bt Alice Wang (USA) 15-8, 15-5; 10-Rakshitha Sree bt Aaliyah Zakaria (Singapore) 11-15, 15-5, 15-8
Mixed doubles:
14-Bhavya Chhabra/Vishakha Toppo bt Aske Romer/Jasmin Willis (Denmark) 15-13, 15-11; C Lalramsanga/Taarini Suri lost to 8-Shuji Sawada/Aoi Banno (Japan) 10-15, 6-15
–IANS
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