National Badminton Championship: Young guns make their mark, give glimpse into bright future

In the 85th edition of the Senior National Badminton Championships at the Deshbhakta Tarun Ram Phookan Indoor Stadium in Guwahati, Anmol Kharb from Haryana grabbed the spotlight. At 16 years and 11 months old, she secured the women’s national championship title by defeating 15­-year­-old Tanvi Sharma from Punjab 15-­21, 21-­17, 16-­8 (retd.) in the final. 

When Saina Nehwal clinched the Senior National Women’s Singles title in 2006–07 in Patna, she was 16 years and 10 months old. When P.V. Sindhu bagged the women’s crown in 2011–12 in Bengaluru, she was 16 years and six months old. In badminton circles, there’s a concern about the lack of successors in Indian women’s badminton after Saina and Sindhu. Can Anmol and Tanvi follow in their footsteps internationally? With their talent and skills, they have the potential. The key lies in transitioning from juniors to seniors.

For perspective, Anmol and Tanvi are the best juniors in India in both Under­17 and Under­19. Tanvi is behind Anmol at No. 2 in both categories. However, Tanvi has done a tad better than Anmol at the international level. Tanvi bagged the silver medal in the Asian U­17 championships in October 2023, while Anmol lost in the first round of the same tournament. 

As far as junior world rankings go, Tanvi stands at 94, while Anmol is at 81. In the BWF senior rankings, Anmol is 470 in women’s singles and Tanvi is 586.

Anmol and Tanvi haven’t featured in too many international tournaments. Anmol just played the Chhattisgarh International Challenge in Raipur in 2023, where she reached the round of 16 after playing two qualifying rounds. Tanvi competed in a singles event and three doubles competitions. In the only singles tournament — the Chhattisgarh International Challenge in 2023 — Tanvi reached the round of 32. Tanvi paired with her elder sister Radhika Sharma in doubles at the Guwahati Masters (round of 16) and Syed Modi International, where the duo lost in the qualifying. It was in the Chhattisgarh International Challenge that the sister pair reached a creditable quarterfinal.

Sanjiv Sachdeva, a former India junior coach and current member of the Indian junior team selection committee, has observed Anmol’s performance in the Krishna Khaitan Memorial tournament over the past few years. He unequivocally states that Saina and Sindhu outshine Anmol and Tanvi by a significant margin. However, he believes that Anmol has the potential to make a substantial impact on the international stage in the senior category within the next 2–3 years.

Analysing Anmol’s game, Sanjiv said: “Physically and mentally, she is strong and a good fighter. She has good defence and attack but needs to improve her speed. The best part is that she is very focused, unlike a few girls who relax after winning one or two national titles. Her drops and net play need to improve. She will only get better.”

Sanjiv, who has travelled extensively with Saina as a junior coach, noted that the latter consistently put in extra effort to enhance her weaker areas. “In her early days, Saina had a weak backhand. Every day, she worked hard on her overhead forehand shots.”

In fact, when Saina and Sindhu were in their teens, they took part in more international tournaments in the senior section than Anmol and Tanvi have done so far.

Take, for example, Saina. She had won the Asian Satellite Tournament at the age of 15, beating a much­-senior player in Aparna Popat in straight games. At 16 years old, Saina became the first Indian to win a four­-star event, the Philippines Open in 2006.

Meanwhile, Sindhu, at 14, had played in the India Open, and in February 2010, when she had not yet turned 16, Sindhu rose from 255 to world No. 168, jumping 87 places, after reaching the final of the Iran Fajr International Challenge. In 2011, Sindhu cracked the top 100, being ranked world No. 98.

At the domestic level, Saina and Sindhu didn’t take part in many senior national ranking events, including senior nationals, as they were busy competing in international tournaments across the globe.

Trupti Murgunde, a former India player and current national selector, is pleased that the two talented young girls competed in the final. She emphasised that there is a group of talented girls capable of challenging senior players.

“Badminton is looking up. It’s not just Anmol and Tanvi; there is Unnati Hooda, Tara Shah, Isharani Baruah, Rakshitha Sree, and other young girls performing well at the national level. It is good that there is competition among them,” she said.

“I am not belittling their [Anmol and Tanvi] achievements. What they have done is great. It’s good that youngsters are doing well at the senior level. Let’s give them some more time and not jump to conclusions based on one tournament. In the juniors, the depth is good, and there is healthy competition,” remarked Trupti.

The 41-­year-­old, a former National Women’s Singles Champion, said there have been different winners in the junior ranking tournaments this season. “The only thing is that the bunch of good players should not waste time and do well at the international level in seniors, which should be the benchmark to judge their potential.”

According to Trupti, today’s players have abundant resources and access to top­ notch training, equipment, and tournaments. She highlighted the support from the Badminton Association of India and the Central Government. “One has to be balanced in the number of hours one trains and the number of tournaments in which one takes part. I would say, ‘Be smart and don’t overdo things’. Coaches and parents have a huge role to play here. It is more mental than physical. It is also important they do well in the international tournaments happening in India,” she said.

Manjusha Kanwar, a multiple national champion in singles, said Saina and Sindhu have set the bar so high that it will be difficult for the youngsters to emulate them.

“We have some great talent and good depth. I hope they carry forward the legacy of Saina and Sindhu. We are waiting. Maybe with more exposure, they will do better,” she said.

After her triumph, Anmol talked about her rivalry with Tanvi. “We (Tanvi and I) have played in more than seven tournaments this year in U­17 and U­19. We have faced each other mostly in the finals. My motive was to get a medal. I am very happy that I got gold. My coaches, Kusumm Singh and Ravinder, have been instrumental in my victory,” she said.

Anmol is in class XI, pursuing legal studies. “My father (Devender Singh) is keen that I become a lawyer like him. But my priority is to become a top badminton player,” she remarked. She also said she will focus on the senior section next year. “My dream is to win gold in the Olympics, and my immediate target is to do well in the world junior championships,” Anmol said.

On her idol, Saina, Anmol said, “Saina has inspired me a lot. She is also from Haryana. She won the senior national title at 16. I, too, won mine at 16. She is an aggressive player, and my game is similar to hers,” said Anmol, who is the reigning National U­17 singles champion and runner­-up in the National U­19 championships.

Chirag Sen clinches men’s title

“It was shocking to see him (Lakshya Sen) lose, but that is sport,” said his elder brother Chirag after winning the men’s singles title, defeating M. Tharun of Telangana, seeded fourth, in the final.

Lakshya, world no. 16 and one of the top players from India to taste success at the global level, had prepared well for three weeks at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bengaluru before arriving in Guwahati. However, his academy mate and training partner, Bharat Raghav of Haryana, defeated the top seed, Lakshya, in three tough games in the quarterfinals. Tharun then put it across Bharat in the semifinals.

The 25­-year-­old unseeded Chirag, known for his attacking style, gained a significant boost by securing the men’s singles crown. He looks forward to facing upcoming tournaments with increased confidence. “After being in the senior circuit for four years, this is my first final,” he said.

“I was struggling with my game for a while. I am so happy to win. My best performance had been a quarterfinal appearance in the Senior Nationals. The key was the win over third seed Kartikey Gulshan Kumar in the second round, which gave me confidence. Since October 2023, I have been playing quite well, starting with the Infosys International Challenge in Bengaluru, where I reached the semifinals. It gave me confidence that I can play well at that level,” added world no. 97 Chirag, keen to break into the top 50 by the end of 2024.