Indian Shuttlers Shine at World Juniors: Dattu, Bhavya-Vishakha Upset Higher Seeds

Gnana Dattu, playing in his first world juniors, defeated 8th seed Garret Tan of USA 15-12, 15-13 in boys' singles, while Bhavya and Vishakha fought back after losing the opening game to beat third seeded French combination of Thibault Gardon and Agathe Cuevas 12-15, 15-11, 15-12 to reach the quarterfinals, according to a press release from BAI Media.

Girls' singles top seed Tanvi dominated China's Sun Li Yuan for a 15-8, 15-5 win, while eighth seed Unnati recovered from a bad start to beat Carine Tee of Malaysia 15-10, 15-7. In the quarterfinals, Tanvi will face Japan's Saki Matsumoto while Unnati will take on second seed Anyapat Phichitpreechasak of Thailand.

While Tanvi and Unnati lived up to the expectations, Gnana Dattu and the pairing of Bhavya and Vishakha punched above their weight to get within striking distance of a possible medal.

Playing against an experienced opponent, Gnana Dattu showcased his racquet skills as he executed late flicks and flat pushes, particularly under pressure, to outmanoeuvre Tan.

In both games, Dattu and Tan focused on avoiding errors in the early exchanges, and it was the Indian who managed to seize the initiative from 8-8. Having understood the conditions and his opponent's game plan, the 17-year-old created opportunities with delectable slow drops and sharp dribbles to gain a comfortable advantage and then kept his nerves to close out the match.

In the second game, Tan managed to save three match points from 10-14 down as Dattu suddenly tried to avoid mistakes, but the Indian managed to hold his nerves on the fourth point to seal his quarterfinal spot.

"Though he has more experience than me because he has played a few senior tournaments, I was confident that I could beat him if I could play at my best, and I am happy that I could do that today," said Gnana Dattu, who is playing in his first World Junior Championships as quoted by the BAI Media press release.

On the adjacent court, Bhavya and Toppo perfectly executed the game plan from the better side of the court to upset the third seeds from France.

Having lost the opening game rather easily, the Indian combination roared back in the second, adopting an aggressive approach. The decider was a battle of nerves as the third seeds changed ends at 8-6 and then looked comfortably placed at 11-8. This is when the Indians decided to change tactics and not let their opponents attack. This meant that Bhavya got opportunities to find the winners as the Indian combination won six straight points to turn the tables.

"While trailing at 8-11, the coach told us to attack more and play soft at the net to ensure that we get to attack more. We simply listened to the coach as it was easier to attack from this side," said Bhavya after the match, as quoted by the BAI Media press release.

Bhavya and Vishakha will now face Chinese Taipei's Hung Bing Fu and Chou Yun An, who defeated Korea's Kim Tae Hyun and Moon In Seo 15-9, 15-11 in the other pre-quarterfinals.

Indian results:

Men's Singles:

Gnana Dattu TT bt 8-Garret Tan (USA) 15-12, 15-13

Women's Singles:

Tanvi Sharma bt Li Yuan Sun (China) 15-8, 15-5; 8-Unnati Hooda bt Carine Tee (Malaysia) 15-10, 15-7; 10-Rakshitha Sree lost to 4-Ranithma Liyanage (Sri Lanka) 11-15, 9-15

Women's Doubles:8-Vennala K/Reshika U lost to Salsabila Aulia/Jania Situmorang (Indonesia) 16-14, 12-15, 8-15

Mixed Doubles:14-Bhavya Chhabra/ Vishakha Toppo bt 3-Thibault Gardon/ Agathe Cuevas (France) 12-15, 15-11, 15-12.

- ANI