India’s top junior badminton player, Tanvi Patri, secured a convincing victory over Thailand’s Kungkaew Kakanik to advance to the U-15 girls’ singles final at the Badminton Asia U-17 & U-15 Junior Championships in Chengdu, China, on Saturday.
Patri, the top seed in the U-15 girls’ category, faced a tough challenge in the opening game from Thailand’s sixth-seed Kakanik but eventually cruised to a 21-19, 21-10 win in just 31 minutes. She will now compete against Vietnam’s second seed Nguyen Thi Thu Huygen, who defeated China’s Liu Yu Tong 21-18, 17-21, 21-19 in the other semifinal.
Disappointment for Gnana
It was disappointment for Gnana Dattu TT in the U-17 boys’ singles, as he lost to Indonesia’s Radithya Bayu Wardhana in a three-game match, resulting in a bronze medal.
Gnana Dattu began strongly against Radithya and seemed set for the final after comfortably winning the first game. However, the Indian player lost his momentum and required a medical timeout, eventually falling 9-21, 21-13, 21-13.
In the previous edition of the championships, India won a gold medal in the boys’ U-15 singles category and a silver in the U-17 girls’ singles. In past editions, Samiya Imad Farooqui claimed the U-15 girls’ singles title in 2017, and Tasnim Mir won the same category in 2019.
Results
U-15 Girls singles: 1-Tanvi Patri (Ind) bt Kungkaew Kakanik (Tha) 21-19, 21-10
U-17 Boys singles: 2-Gnana Dattu TT lost to Radithya Bayu Wardhana (Ina) 9-21, 21-13, 21-13