India’s campaign at the Badminton Asia Junior Individual Championships 2025 concluded on a high note in Solo, Indonesia, with Tanvi Sharma and Vennala Kalagotla securing bronze medals in the women’s singles category. This marks a historic first for India, as two female singles shuttlers stood on the podium in the same edition of the continental event.
In the semifinals, Vennala Kalagotla faced China’s Liu Si Ya in a tightly contested match. Despite trailing 15–20 in the second game, Vennala saved three match points to close the gap to 18–20, but a late error allowed Liu to seal the match 21–15, 21–18. Vennala had earlier battled past Thailand’s Janyaporn Meepanthong in a 58-minute quarterfinal, winning 21–18, 17–21, 21–17.
On the adjacent court, second seed Tanvi Sharma took on China’s eighth seed Yin Yi Qing. After dropping the first game 13–21, Tanvi surged to a 6–1 lead in the second, only for Yin to level at 8–8 and eventually win 21–13, 21–14. Tanvi had previously defeated Indonesia’s fifth seed Thalita Ramadhani Wiryawan in straight games to reach the last four.
The twin medals also ended India’s seven-year drought at the event, with the last podium finish coming from Lakshya Sen’s gold in 2018. Tanvi and Vennala now join PV Sindhu as the only Indian women’s singles medalists in the tournament’s history.
India’s performance at the championships is seen as a promising sign ahead of the BWF Junior World Championships, scheduled to be held later this year in Guwahati.
