Tanvi Sarma storms into World Junior Badminton Championship final

Our Sports Reporter

GUWAHATI: Following in the footsteps of Saina Nehwal, rising Indian shuttler Tanvi Sarma has reached the final of the World Junior Badminton Championship, coming within touching distance of a gold medal. The shuttler displayed remarkable composure and skill in her semi-final match on Friday, registering a clinical 15-11, 15-9 win over Asian Junior Championships silver medallist Liu in from China just over half an hour.

Tanvi will now face Thailand’s Anyapat Phichitpreechasak in the final. Anyapat Phichitpreechasak in the first semi final defeated Yataweemin Ketklieng (Thailand) 10-15, 15-11, 15-5. This will be the second meeting between the two players.

Indian shuttler came out all guns blazing in the semifinals against Liu from the very first point. The Indian went for winners early in the first few exchanges and wasn’t afraid to play the late flicks and sharp cross-court pushes from the front court to keep her opponent guessing. The ploy worked wonderfully as she opened up a 7-3 lead in the opening game and though Liu managed to close the gap at 8-7, Tanvi never looked under pressure.

She continued to raise the tempo of the rallies and never allowed Liu to settle down in any rhythm, wrapping up the opening game with her trademark cross-court smash in just 13 minutes.

With the opening game already in her pocket, Tanvi was even more comfortable going for her shots and opened up a 12-4 lead in no time. It was at this stage that she made her first real mistakes, hitting a net tap in the net. A flurry of errors thereafter allowed Liu to earn four quick points before Tanvi stopped that run with another perfectly weighted down-the-line smash on the Chinese’s serve.

Tanvi, who has been training at the NCE, Guwahati for almost a year now, then continued to move her opponent all around the court and even scored points with cross-court drives while countering her opponent’s smashes. She then sealed the finals spot when Liu pushed a forehand drive wide.

Earlier, boys’ singles top seed Mohd. Zaki Ubaidillah had to save three points in the second game before beating China’s Li Zhi Hang 14-16, 16-14, 15-12 in a topsy-turvy battle that lasted for an hour.

In the opening game, Ubaidillah led 11-6 before Li won four straight points to make it 11-10. The Indonesian again opened up a four-point lead at 14-10 before Li raised the tempo and won six straight points to pocket the game.

The top seed was on the verge of being knocked out as Li earned three match points in the second game, only for Ubaidillah’s booming down-the-line smashes helping him fight back. He bagged five straight points to then force a decider.

Ubaidillah kept his nose ahead throughout the decider despite Li threatening to turn the tables when he closed the gap from 13-7 to 13-12, but the Indonesian relied on his smashes to seal the final spot.

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