Badminton Asia Junior C'ships: Tanvi, Vennala end India's 7-year medal drought with bronze win

India’s Tanvi Sharma and Vennala Kalagotla made history despite losing their respective women’s singles semi-finals at the Badminton Asia Junior Individual Championships 2025 in Surakarta, Indonesia on Saturday.

Assured of bronze medals, this is the first time two Indian women’s singles players have secured medals in the same edition of the tournament.

This also ends India's seven-year medal-less run at the Badminton Asia Junior C'ships. The last Indian to bag a podium finish at the continental event was Lakshya Sen, when he clinched the men's singles gold in 2018.

Both Tanvi and Vennala lost to opponents from the People’s Republic of China in straight games.

Second seed Tanvi Sharma was defeated by eighth seed Yin Yi Qing 13-21, 14-21 in a brisk 35-minute match.

Vennala Kalagotla, on the other hand, put up a tougher fight before going down 15-21, 18-21 to Liu Si Ya.

Vennala’s journey to the semifinals was marked by hard-fought battles, including a tough round with Thailand’s Janyaporn Meepanthong lasting 58-minute.

Last month, Tanvi Sharma made the final of the US Open, becoming the youngest Indian to reach a BWF World Tour event’s final.

The medal wins also made Vennala and Tanvi only the second and third Indian women's singles shuttler to win a medal at the Badminton Asia Junior C'ships.

PV Sindhu with a gold in 2012 and a bronze in 2011 is the only other Indian to win a women's singles medal at the event.

Tanvi and Vennala's semi-final exit also brought an end to India's campaign at the 2025 Badminton Asia Junior Championships. The 19-member Indian contingent returns with two bronze medals.