Back on podium after 13 years, junior women shuttlers hope to build on Badminton Asia Championships success
Tanvi and Vennala, the last two remaining Indians in fray, went down fighting to their respective Chinese opponents in straight games in Solo, Indonesia. While Vennala saved three match points in the second game before going down 21-15, 21-18 to Liu Si Ya, Tanvi, the current World No. 1 in juniors, lost to eighth-seed Yin Yi Qing 21-13, 21-14. These were also the first medals for Indian women in the event since P.V. Sindhu in 2012.
The 16-year old Tanvi, who idolises former World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying, had recently become only the fourth Indian woman to reach the final of a BWF Super 300 event at the US Open. 'There were a lot of unforced errors which was disappointing but I am still happy to get a medal for India after 13 years. I have to get stronger and I was not well also through the week so overall it was ok,' she said.
Switching between senior and junior events isn't easy either, she admitted. 'Out there I go all out and play freely, the level of players is very different and I know I have to improve to match them. In juniors, there is a little more pressure because there is more expectation. Add studies and the balance is not easy to manage. The big target now is the World Junior Championships later this year,' she said, adding that competing on home base – she trains at the NCOE, Guwahati, venue for the event – would not matter.
Vennala, on the other hand, was the surprise element, the current World No. 103 in juniors overcoming higher-ranked opponents before falling short in the semifinals. 'What I realised is that I have to work on playing slower opponents and keep the rallies going, get faster and not allow the other player to control the pace,' the 17-year old trainee with Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad since 2019 admitted.
'This is my first international medal so I am really happy with the result but I know I can do better. More than myself, my coaches – Rahul Yadav and Jayant Rana – would be happier today. They have been instrumental in pushing me to work hard in singles even when everyone else, including myself, thought I was not good enough and should stick to doubles. This medal will push me to focus more now but I won't give up doubles completely,' Vennala insisted.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Generations will talk about what Pant did for this team: Gautam Gambhir
Manchester, Head coach Gautam Gambhir on Sunday said the character and foundation of the current Indian team will be built on the remarkable act of courage from Rishabh Pant, who batted in the first innings of the fourth Test with a broken right foot. HT Image Pant added crucial first innings runs for the team despite batting with a fractured foot after missing a reverse sweep off Chris Woakes on day one. He managed to get a half-century, helping India post 358 on day two. Pant was not required to bat in the second innings as Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar guided India to a morale-boosting draw with a century each to keep the series alive. "Rishabh already, it's been declared that he's out of the series. And one thing I want to say is that the character and the foundation of this team will be built on what Rishabh did for the team and for the country as well," said Gambhir in the post-match media interaction. "Any amount of praise is not enough for him, especially batting with a broken foot. Not many people have done that in the past. And he had put his hand up, and that is why I say any amount of praise... "I can sit here and talk about this for hours and hours. I think the generations to come forward will talk about this. And generations coming forward should talk about it, that there is someone who has batted with a broken foot. And it's unfortunate because of the kind of form he was in. "But again, he's an important member of the Test side. And I hope he recovers quickly and comes back quickly and try and deliver a game for us," said the former India batter. All fast bowlers are fit for final Test, no call taken on Bumrah yet ========================================== Gambhir also gave an important update on the fitness of the fast bowlers who have had to deal with heavy workload and injuries over the course of the five-match series. Having mentioned earlier that Jasprit Bumrah would be playing only three Tests due to workload management, Gambhir said no call is taken yet on his participation at The Oval. For the record, the Manchester Test was Bumrah's third of the tour but with the series still on the line, he might just play in London. "All the fast bowlers are there. There is no injury scare," Gambhir asserted. That means that Akash Deep has fully recovered from his groin injury and Arshdeep Singh from his hand injury. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
She once borrowed shoes. Now she's donating spikes
BHOPAL: She's the youngest of six siblings. A class 8 dropout. A daughter of a dismissed policeman. A bowler with six English wickets and a nation watching. Cricketer Kranti Goud once bowled in hand-me-down shoes. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Today, the 21-year-old Indian women's team star wants to equip budding girl cricketers with premium spiked shoes - free of cost. Her drive? To ensure no girl with talent is benched by poverty. Goud from Ghuwara, a tribal-majority village in MP's Chhatarpur district, has secured a sponsorship deal with an international shoe brand - her first personal milestone off the pitch. On it, she's already made headlines: a searing 6/52 against England, her first five-wicket haul in ODIs, helped India seal the recent series in the third match. Goud's rise from rural Bundelkhand to the national spotlight is a tale stitched with adversity. Her father Munna Singh, a former MP police constable, was dismissed in 2012 during election duty. The family had to vacate their official quarters and shift to a rented home. Eldest brother Mayank dropped out of school to work. "We were in a lot of trouble," he said. "There were days we didn't have proper meals. People mocked us for letting Kranti pursue cricket, but somehow we held on." Coach Rajiv Bilthare took her in at his Sai Cricket Academy in Chhatarpur in 2017. "She came in worn-out clothes and regular shoes," he said. "Her father was jobless. Her family had nothing. I didn't charge her any fees. I gave her shoes, uniform, and even bought her gear." One memory stands out. "I gave her Rs 1,600 to buy cricket spikes. She lit up. Said it felt like a dream," Bilthare said. That dream carried Goud to the national squad. She now wants to help others walk the path - one pair of spiked shoes at a time. "It's time for me to give back to society," she said. "I want to buy a house for my family. That's first. But I also want girls at our academy to play without worrying about money. My assistance will help them focus on the game." The right-arm medium-fast bowler made her ODI debut against Sri Lanka on May 11 and her T20 international debut against England on July 12. She represents MP in domestic cricket and plays for UP Warriorz in Women's Premier League (WPL).
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
World University Games: Ankita bags women's 3000m steeplechase silver, men's 4x100m relay team takes bronze
Steeplechaser Ankita Dhyani came up with a blistering run to clinch silver in the gruelling 3000m event with a personal-best time of 9:31.99 seconds, while the men's 4x100m relay quartet bagged a bronze as Indian athletes ended their campaign in the World University Games on Sunday (July 27, 2025). The trio of Munita Prajapati, Mansi Negi, and Sejal Singh finished third to take the bronze in women's 20km team racewalk on the concluding day. India ended their campaign with two gold, five silver and five bronze in the showpiece event. On a day when several Indian athletes were in contention in track events, but could bag only two medals, 23-year-old Ankita, a second-year social sciences student, shaved nearly seven seconds from her personal best time of 9:39.00 seconds to finish a few milliseconds behind Finland's Ilona Maaria Mononen, who timed 9:31.86. Adia Budde of Germany took the bronze, clocking 9:33.34 seconds. On Friday, Ankita had topped Heat 1 by clocking 9:54.79 seconds and secured her place in the final. It was a massive 22-second improvement, which propelled Ankita to second place in the competitive race. Ankita remained in the top-five through most of the race and came up with a breathtaking sprint in the final 300 metres to almost catch up with the German before missing the gold by just 0.13 seconds. The men's 4x100m relay team, comprising Lalu Prasad Bhoi, Animesh Kujur, Manikanta Hoblidhar and Mrutyam Jayaram, clocked 38.89 seconds to take the bronze. South Korea took the gold in 38.50 seconds, while South Africa (38.80) bagged the silver. The Indian women's 4x400m relay team came up with a season's best time of 3:35.08 seconds, but it was not good enough for a medal, as the quartet of Anakha Bijukumar, Devyaniba Zala, Rashdeep Kaur and Rupal finished fifth, clocking 3:35.08 seconds. The German team, despite a poor reaction time, won the gold with a time of 3:29.68 seconds. The Indian men's 4x400m relay quartet of Vishal Kayalvizhi, Aswin Lakshmanan, Jerome Jayaseelan Panimaya and Balakrishna finished fifth, clocking 3: Poland won the gold with a time of 3:03.64. Indian race walkers had a dismal showing, with none of them finishing in the top-10 in the men's and women's sections, though a few came up with personal or season best timings. However, the trio of Munita, Mansi, and Sejal finished third to take the bronze in women's 20km team racewalk. Sejal came up with a personal best of 1:35:21 seconds to finish 15th, with the gold going to Australia's Elizabeth McMillen in a WUG record time of 1:28:18 seconds. Munita (1:39:33) was 18th, Mansi (1:41:12) was 20th, Shalini (1:48:07) 23rd, and Mahima (1:55.49) 25th. In men's 20km racewalk, Rahul clocked a season's best 1:26:34 seconds but finished 20th in the men's 20km race walk final with the gold going to Andrea Cosi of Italy with a World University Games record of 1:19:48 seconds. Gaurav Kumar (1:28:44) was 25th, Sachin Singh Bohra (1:32:03) 28th and Sanjay Kumar (1:46:21) finished last among 31 competitors. Pole vaulter Dev Kumar Meena (5.35m) settled for a fifth-place finish in the final with the gold going to Simen Guttormsen (5.75m) of Norway. India's medal winners: Gold - Parneet Kaur/Kushal Dalal (mixed team compound archery), Sahil Jadhav (men's compound archery). Silver - Parneet Kaur (women's compound archery), Kushal Dalal/Sahil Jadhav/Hritik Sharma (men's team compound archery), Praveen Chithravel (men's triple jump), Seema (women's 5000m), Ankita Dhyani (women's 3000m steeplechase). Bronze - Badminton mixed team, Vaishnavi Adkar (women's singles tennis), Parneet Kaur/Avneet Kaur/Madhura Dhamangaonkar (women's compound team archery), Sejal Singh, Munita Prajapati, Mansi Negi (women's 20km racewalk team), men's 4x100m relay.
