Tanvi wins silver but misses out on history

Guwahati: Indian shuttler Tanvi Sharma’s bid to script history by winning a gold medal at the BWF World Junior Championships ended in heartbreak as she lost in straight games to Thailand’s Anyapat Phichitpreechasak in the women’s singles final here on Sunday.

The 16-year-old, who followed in the footsteps of former world No.1 Saina Nehwal and Aparna Popat to become only the third Indian female shuttler to reach the final of the tournament, lost 7-15 12-15 to the second-seeded Thai.

Tanvi thus signed off with a silver medal — India’s first at the World Junior Championships in 17 years.

“I was not comfortable. From the start of the match, I made a lot of mistakes. In the second game, I did manage to play my strokes but once again I ended up making mistakes after 8-5. After that, my coach told me to keep playing and I did that. But she was reading my strokes very well,” said Tanvi after the match.