Tanvi Sharma's sensational run at the BWF World Junior Championships ended with a silver medal in the girls’ singles event here on Sunday. The top-seeded Indian lost to Thailand’s second-seeded Anyapat Phichitpreechasak 15-7, 15-12 in the summit clash, which lasted 28 minutes.
Tanvi became the fifth Indian and the third female shuttler to win a silver medal at the Junior World Championships. Her loss in Sunday's final means Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal remains the only Indian to win gold at the championship, with her title triumph coming in 2008.
Besides Tanvi and Saina, who also won a silver medal in 2006, Aparna Popat (1996), Siril Verma (silver medallist in 2015) and Sankar Muthusamy (silver medallist in 2022) are the other three Indians who have won medals in the tournament.
Tanvi made a cautious start in the opening game against Anyapat, struggling to counter the Thai shuttler’s clever drop shots and committing several unforced errors to trail 8-5 at the interval. Anyapat capitalised on the advantage and claimed the opening game with ease.
The second game began on a similar note as Tanvi conceded the first point with a misdirected smash. However, she quickly found her rhythm, thrilling the home crowd with five consecutive points. Anyapat responded with three in a row, but Tanvi managed to carry a three-point lead into the mid-game break.
Her momentum, though, was short-lived. A string of unforced errors allowed Anyapat to level the score at 8-all and seize control once again. Despite Tanvi’s effort to stage a comeback, the Thai shuttler maintained her composure to seal the match.
Anyapat, a former U15 Asian champion, knocked out Tanvi’s compatriot Unnati Hooda in the quarterfinals.The silver medal caps a breakthrough season for the youngster. She had already clinched a bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships earlier this year and also made a stunning run to the US Open final.