India looks to build on mixed team success at World Juniors
The 25-member Indian squad made history last week by securing its first-ever mixed team medal after beating former champions Korea in the quarterfinals
Tanvi Sharma in action during mixed team rounds
GUWAHATI: Fresh from a bronze in the mixed team event, India’s young shuttlers will aim to continue their strong run when the individual events of the BWF World Junior Championships begin at the National Centre of Excellence here on Monday.
The 25-member Indian squad made history last week by securing its first-ever mixed team medal after beating former champions Korea in the quarterfinals. With that confidence, the focus now shifts to the singles and doubles events as India looks to add to its tally of 11 individual medals at the World Juniors, including Saina Nehwal’s landmark gold from Pune in 2008.
In the girls’ singles, junior world No 1 and China Open quarter-finalist Unnati Hooda will lead India’s medal hopes. Both have been drawn in opposite halves, raising the prospect of an all-Indian final. Tanvi, an Asian U-19 bronze medallist, begins her campaign with a bye and could face Indonesia’s seventh seed Thalita Wiryawan in the quarterfinals. Unnati, seeded eighth, opens against Hong Kong’s Liu Hoi Kiu Anna and may meet Thailand’s second seed Anyapat Phichitpreechasak in the last eight.
Asian U-19 bronze medallist Vennala K and world No 41 Rakshita Sree share the same quarter, with potential tests against China’s Liu Si Ya and Sri Lanka’s fourth seed Ranithma Liyanage respectively.
In boys’ singles, the road appears tougher. Lalthazuala Hmar could face top seed Mohammad Zaki Ubaidillah of Indonesia in the round of 32, while 11th seed Rounak Chouhan meets China’s Li Zhi Hang. Teammates Gnana Dattu TT and 15th seed Suryaksh Rawat are also likely to cross paths in the third round.
Former junior world No 1 duo Bhargav Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gobburu, seeded sixth in boys’ doubles, start against Slovenia’s Andrej Macek and Andrej Suchy and may face Asian champions Chen Jun Ting and Liu Jun Rong in the quarterfinals.
In mixed doubles, promising pair C Lalramsanga and Taarini Suri, finalists at the Pune Junior Grand Prix, could meet Japan’s eighth seeds Shuji Sawada and Aoi Banno in round three. Meanwhile, Bhavya Chhabra and Vishakha Toppo, seeded 14th, face a challenging path with possible encounters against higher-seeded pairs from France and Thailand in their bid for a podium finish.