‘Patri’s like young PV’

U-15 Badminton Asia Junior champion Tanvi Patri. Pic/BAI

Thirteen-year-old Tanvi Patri from Odisha has cemented her status as one of India's most promising badminton prodigies by clinching the U-15 girls singles title at the Badminton Asia U-17 & U-15 Junior Championships in Chengdu, China, the country where she first honed her skills in the sport.

Defeats second seed in final

Patri capped off a phenomenal week with a superlative performance, defeating Vietnam's second seed Thi Thu Huyen Nguyen 22-20, 21-11 in a 34-minute final, offering a glimmer of hope after Indian badminton's recent struggles at the Paris Olympics.

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Vimal Kumar and PV Sindhu

"I'm feeling good after winning the title," Patri told PTI from Chengdu. "I had expected to win, and I'm happy I could do that. I've been training at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy [PPBA] in Bangalore for the last two years." Her parents, Rabinarayan Patri and Sailabala Panda, are software professionals who previously worked in China, where she first took up badminton.The family returned to India in 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vimal Kumar, Director of PPBA, sees great promise in Tanvi, even drawing comparisons to the early days of PV Sindhu, one of India's most celebrated badminton players. "She was about eight or nine when she moved to India and joined the academy in 2022," said Vimal.

Strong contender for LA '28

"She reminds me of Sindhu when she was young. The ability to win matches at a young age is a good sign. She has a long way to go, and with her temperament, she has great potential. If she improves her strength and continues to develop, she could be a strong contender for the 2028 or 2032 Olympics."

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