GUWAHATI: In a familiar space where she trains day in and day out, Tanvi Sharma was surprisingly in a tricky spot in the opening essay of her women's singles Round of 32 meeting against Oei Louisa Jovanka Sandi Winarto of Indonesia at the National Centre of Excellence (NCE), here. Her coach Park Tae-sang sat helpless, taking mental notes, as she strayed the shuttles in Game 1.
But Tanvi, who is considered to be one of the brightest singles prospects in the country, found her range just in time before going on to close out the match (15-12, 15-7). She was far from her best, especially in Game 1, on Wednesday but it was yet another vital win for her. Given that India have never had a medallist in the women's singles category besides Saina Nehwal, who captured gold in 2008 at the BWF World Junior Championships, this is a win that keeps them firmly in contention for the big prizes. Besides Tanvi, Unnati Hooda also won later to solidify their chances. Park was clearly concerned about Tanvi's early blues on the day but is happy that the singles specialists are in the debate for medal contention.
"In the women's singles after Saina Nehwal, we haven't had a champion. In fact, we don't have medals either. In the men's singles, we have won medals in recent times through Ayush Shetty and Lakshya Sen. So we want to change that. This time we have a very good opportunity," Park told The New Indian Express.
According to Park, Tanvi has been making a habit of making mistakes and handing the initiative to her rivals in recent matches. "Tanvi's performance is okay. But the first game, she was leading 9-4 and in no time it was 9-12...Tanvi tends to have these kinds of games. In the Asia Junior Championships semifinal (held in July) also, it was almost the same. It was her own mistake. If your opponent is really skillful and you lose points, it doesn't matter. But she has been making mistakes from her side first and conceding points. For 9-12, it became 15-12 eventually. Why? Because she made zero mistakes, it's as simple as that. You make mistakes before your opponents, that's a concern."
The South Korean, who is the head singles coach at the NCE in Guwahati, was much more pleased with her output in the second game. "In the second game, she was much better. She had zero mistakes. She was looking to play her attacking game, hit smashes and she was landing it well within the lines. It was easy work."
The coach hopes Tanvi can express herself freely on the court without being bogged down by the tag of top billing. "This is home. You already have high-quality performances in the past - US Open runner-up, ABC bronze medal, she has had high quality performances. Now, she shouldn't be bogged down by pressure. She should overcome those herself. She is still improving. I feel she'll be much better in the next few matches."
Besides Tanvi, Rounak Chouhan and T Gnana Dattu (both men's singles) train under the South Korean, who has also formerly trained PV Sindhu. Park, who has been part of the NCE since its inception, said it's tough for young minds to change their habits but he hopes they'll gradually get the message. "When I give my feedback, initially it is not easy for the players to change. I'm hoping they will gradually learn to adopt my ideas."
Gnana Dattu won an all-Indian battle against Suryaksh Rawat later while Rounak suffered a hard-fought setback to bow out. "He (Rounak) has got good potential but his movement and skills in the front area are a little bit weak. If he can improve his quality in the front region, close to the net, he can be a good singles player. Gana Dattu is also really good."
Day's results (Rd of 32 | Indians): MS: Gnana Dattu TT bt S Rawat 11-15, 15-6, 15-11; R Chouhan lost to L Zhi Hang 11-15, 12-15; L Hmar lost to R Malhan 13-15, 6-15. WS: T Sharma bt O Winarto 15-12, 15-7; U Hooda bt A Wang 15-8, 15-5; R Sree bt A Zakaria (Singapore) 11-15, 15-5, 15-8. XD: B Chhabra/V Toppo bt A Romer/J Willis 15-13, 15-11; C Lalramsanga/T Suri lost to S Sawada/A Banno 10-15, 6-15. MD: B Arigela/V Gobburu (6) bt S Hagiwara/M Matsumoto 11-15, 15-10, 15-10.
(All U-19): MS: Men's singles; WS: Women's singles; XD: Mixed doubles. MD: Men's doubles.
