Shuttler Tanvi Patri crowned Asian U-15 champion

New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) India’s Tanvi Patri clinched the under-15 girls singles title at the Badminton Asia U-17 & U-15 junior championships after she defeated Thi Thu Huyen Nguyen of Vietnam in straight games in the final in Chengdu, China on Sunday.

The 13-year-old Patri, seeded No. 1, wrapped up the proceedings in just 34 minutes as she cruised to a 22-20 21-11 victory over her second-seeded opponent in the summit clash.

With the feat, Parti joins the likes of Samiya Imad Farooqui and Tasnim Mir, who had won the U-15 girls singles crown in 2017 and 2019 respectively.

Such was Patri’s domination throughout the tournament that she didn’t drop a single game across five matches that she had played.

In the final, Patri was trailing 11-17 but kept her calm as Nguyen made a series of unforced errors. The Indian grabbed the opportunity with both hands to claim the first game.

Patri continued the winning momentum, dominating the second game from the start to eventually seal the match and clinch the gold medal.

“Tanvi Patri’s title-winning run at the Badminton Asia Championships, along with Gnana Dattu’s bronze medal in the U17 men’s singles category, once again underlines the strong talent pool India possesses,” said BAI secretary general Sanjay Mishra in a release.

“The robust and extremely competitive domestic circuit has been playing an important role in preparing our top players for such major international events. I am confident that we will see many more title triumphs from not just Tanvi and Gnana, but other Indian juniors in the coming times.”

India, thus, returned with a haul of two medals, including a gold and a bronze.

Gnana had won the bronze medal in the U-17 boys singles event on Saturday. Three other Indian players made it to the quarter-final stage in the competition.