Despite her best efforts, Tanvi Sharma was unable to advance India past the quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Junior Mixed Team Championships, which were held in Solo, Indonesia, last week. However, as one of the favorites to win the singles championship, the junior world No. 1 will be playing at the Manahan Indoor Sports Hall in Indonesia this week, where she will be able to have a greater impact.

At age 16, he's in great shape. She only made it to the women's singles final of the US Open, a Super 300 competition, at Council Bluffs, Iowa, last month. She defeated several opponents who were rated higher than her to advance to the championship match, where she ultimately lost to the seasoned former top 10 player Beiwen Zhang of the United States, but only after winning a game against her.

"I didn't honestly anticipate taking a game off her. She has a lot of experience and is a really great player. I just had the notion of giving it my best," the 16-year-old shared with HT.

I kept up with the pace (of my opponents) all week. I made some unforced mistakes in the championship match because I was a bit anxious. However, I did play well. I discovered my opponents' concentration during the game and how they organized their schedule. Beiwen's stroke quality also taught me a lot.

However, Tanvi had previously won the Denmark Challenge in May, defeating a number of highly ranked competitors, making this not her first final of the year. She also won the Bonn International title and made it to the Odisha Masters championship game last year.

She has made steady progress, which has helped her rise to international prominence. She reached her greatest career achievement as the 51st-best senior. On June 30, number 50. Considering that she wasn't even in the top 100 at the beginning of the year, this is an outstanding accomplishment.

The improvements to Tanvi's game have allowed her to make significant progress since she began playing badminton at the age of five. From 2016 to 2021, she practiced at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad before moving back to Hoshiarpur during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024, Tanvi's mother Meena enrolled her in the new Badminton Association of India (BAI) National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati.

One of the main factors contributing to Tanvi's move to Assam was the presence of South Korean coach Park Tae-sang, who mentored PV Sindhu from 2019 to 2023 and helped her win the bronze at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Radhika, her older sister, lives in Guwahati.

"Park brought about a lot of change. My style of play is now more aggressive. In the past, I played a typical fetching game. My deceptive and net play have also gotten better. I used to be good at defense, but the coach has improved my offensive play. Tanvi stated, "I'm now more assertive."

"I've significantly improved my smashes and deceptive drop shots, which has given me an advantage. I used to feel anxious during a game, but not anymore. I don't, though. I'm gradually improving at everything.

Even though it's still early, several people, including seasoned pundit Gill Clark, have compared Tanvi's game to that of her idol Sindhu.

When they were both on the Indian women's team that won the Asia Team Championships in February 2024, Tanvi's ambition became a reality.

"I like Sindhu didi's aggressiveness and attacking style on the court. I stayed close to her throughout the Asian Team Championships, watching her games, seeing how she got ready, and everything else. For me, it was a really positive experience. She said that I was doing a good job and should keep doing it.

Park has set Tanvi the goal of breaking into the top 25 at the senior level, in addition to winning the junior Asian championship, as she will continue to compete in both the junior and senior events. "The junior Worlds is also important for him and me. We're paying attention to that as well."

Tanvi, the second seed, has a bye in the first round of the Junior Asian Championships.

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