Guwahati, Oct 18 (IANS) Tanvi Sharma came up with a near-perfect performance against China’s Liu Si Ya to reach the girls’ singles final of the BWF World Junior Championships 2025 at the National Centre of Excellence here on Saturday.

The 16-year-old followed in the footsteps of compatriots Aparna Popat and former world No. 1 Saina Nehwal to become only the third Indian female player to reach the summit clash of the world junior championships, registering a clinical 15-11, 15-9 win over Asian Junior Championships silver medallist Liu in just over half an hour.

The top-seeded Indian will now take on second-seeded Anyapat Phichitpreechasak of Thailand, who fought back from a game down to beat compatriot Yataweemin Ketklieng 10-15, 15-11, 15-5 in the other semifinals.

Having become the first Indian female player to be assured of a world junior championships medal in 17 years, Tanvi 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 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.

“I was feeling very comfortable today, and I am very happy with the way I played. It was only in the second game at 12-4 that I made a few mistakes, but my coach told me to focus on playing my strokes slightly inside the lines, and it worked,” said Tanvi, who is now aiming to walk in Saina’s footsteps and clinch the world junior title on home turf.

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 Indonesians 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.

–IANS

hs/bsk/