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Journalism of Courage
Talented Indian junior Lalthazuala Hmar, will have everyone at Guwahati’s Junior World Championships arena rooting for him as he will likely face world junior number one and top seed Mohammad Zaki Ubaidillah of Indonesia in round of 32 in the week ahead.
Indians were largely handed tough draws at the home event. But tough draw means opportunity of causing an upset. So the Mizo talent could have a shy at causing a mighty stir against the highly rated Indonesian with an aggressive game.
Also landing a golden chance to make headlines is women’s singles shuttler Vennala Kalagotla who might face her Asian U-19 semifinal conqueror Liu Si Ya of China at the pre-quarterfinal stage.
Given that Vennala also straddles women’s doubles alongside and will team up with Reshika U facing a tricky Japanese combination in the round of 32, not many would back her to get both the things done. However the Hyderabadi is a phenomenal fighter and had scored an Asian bronze medal earlier in the year in singles. She was stopped by the same Chinese, but was determined to settle that score. Soon.
For everyone at Guwahati, a big role model will be PV Sindhu who never won a juniors World medal. That’s because she had her first World seniors medal before turning 18.
The more talked of contenders are junior world number one Tanvi Sharma and China Open quarterfinalist Unnati Hooda. They found themselves in different halves of the draw, raising hopes of a possible all-Indian final.
India is riding high on their historic bronze medal finish in the mixed team event, at the National Centre of Excellence here on Monday. India bagged their first-ever mixed team bronze medal by beating former champions Korea in the quarterfinals earlier this week and the 25-member contingent is now gearing up to build on that momentum with an aim to grab as many medals as possible in the individual events.
India’s best performance in the BWF World Juniors came 17 years ago in Pune when Saina Nehwal grabbed the girls’ singles gold while RMV Guru Sai Dutt clinched the bronze medal in boys’ singles. So far, India has won a total of 11 individual medals in the history of the competition, including four silver – Aparna Popat, Nehwal, Sankar Subramanian, Sameer Verma and HS Prannoy.
This edition girls’ singles will be India’s best chance to add another gold medal to their tally, with junior world number one Tanvi Sharma and China Open quarterfinalist Unnati Hooda leading the charge. Tanvi, the Asian U-19 bronze medallist, has a bye in the opening round and a potential quarterfinal clash against Indonesian seventh seed Thalita Wiryawan (who proved tricky for Hooda) could be her first big test in the campaign.
Unnati, seeded eighth, is likely to kick off her campaign in the second round against Hong Kong’s Liu Hoi Kiu Anna and a potential last eight clash against second seed Anyapat Phichitpreechasak of Thailand.
India’s other U-19 challenger, World number 41 Rakshita Sree Santosh Ramraj is placed in the same quarter as Vennala, her best friend. But both would have to come through a few tough matches to stand a chance of reaching the last four stage. Rakshita may face fourth seed Ranithma Liyanage of Sri Lanka in the pre-quarters, while Vennala will has to overcome the Chinese.
The boy’s singles contingent will see 11th seed Rounak Chouhan face a tricky test against China’s Li Zhi Hang at the same stage. Meanwhile, compatriots Gnana Dattu TT and 15th seed Suryaksh Rawat are likely to clash against each other in the third round.
In the paired events, the former junior world number one boys’ doubles combination of Bhargav Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gobburu will open their campaign against Andrej Macek and Andrej Suchy of Slovenia. The sixth-seeded Indian pairing is likely to face reigning Asian Junior Champions Chen Jun Ting and Liu Jun Rong of China in the last eight stage.
Meanwhile, Bhavya Chhabra and Sumith A R open their campaign against Philip Kryger Boe, nephew of former Danish doubles specialist Mathias Boe, and his partner Salomon Thomasen in the round of 64. Vishnu Kode and Mithileish P Krishnan have a tough encounter against the seventh-seeded French duo Thibault Gardon and Mady Sow at the same stage of competition.
Even the girls’ doubles contingent must navigate a tough draw to reach the later stages. Vennala K and Reshika U are set to take on a tricky Japanese combination in the round of 32, while Gayatri and Mansa Rawat face difficult opponents from China in the same round. Meanwhile, Angel Punera and Aanya Bisht may come up against the fifth-seeded Korean pair Cheon Hye In and Moon Seo in the pre-quarterfinals.
In mixed doubles, C Lalramsanga and Taarini Suri along with Bhavya Chhabra and Vishakha Toppo will be hoping to punch above their weight.
Lalramsanga and Taarini, who reached the final of the Junior Grand Prix in Pune earlier this year, are likely to face Japanese eighth seed Shuji Sawada and Aoi Banno in the third round while 14th seed Bhavya and Vishakha will have to overcome third-seeded French pair of Thibault Gardon and Agathe Cuevas in the pre-quarterfinals and, sixth-seeded Thai combination of Pannawat Jamtubim and Kodchaporn Chaichana in the last eight round to be in medal contention.
