GUWAHATI: 'Aaram se, aaram se; chalo, chalo (Take it easy, take it easy; Let's go, let's go). South Korean coach Park Tae-sang was voicing whatever little Hindi words he has learnt in a bid to help his ward Tanvi Sharma get out of a storm she was trying to navigate past.
India were in the conversation for five medals at the start of Friday. By the time singles specialist Tanvi entered the court, that number had been reduced to three. Given the match-ups, the teenager from Hoshiarpur was the country's best bet.
The hefty weight of expectations was on the shoulders of the 16-year-old. The pressure was sky-high, as the No 1 seed would later reveal.
The crowd was fairly vocal as they egged her on during her high-stakes clash against Saki Matsumoto of Japan at the BWF World Junior Championships here at the National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati, a centre where has been polishing the craft for a year or so.
But the crowd had gone almost mute at the conclusion of the first game, which Tanvi lost. That meant India were in danger of missing out on yet another medal in the women's singles category. Saina Nehwal, one of the greats of Indian badminton, was the last medallist in the event. That was way back in 2008.
With Saki relying on her rallies, Tanvi was visibly drained but she mustered all her energy in the remainder of the highly-engrossing contest to lift the crowd. Park's every little intervention during breaks also helped. Her end reward was a place where no Indian woman has reached in the last 17 years. After a energy-sapping three-game contest that lasted 47 minutes, Tanvi and Park had reached their objective as the Indian won 13-15, 15-9, 15-10 to reach the last-four stage. Tanvi, delighted with the result, tried to sum up the match later.
"First game, I was leading and I was playing quite well. I was leading 10-6 and I made many unforced errors. In the second game I was highly comfortable from the first point itself. I just played aggressive in the second," Tanvi said."It's tough to play against Saki. She was just playing slow rallies, I just had to play aggressive. I was a little nervous, I just played my best."
In what was a rollercoaster of a contest, the drama continued until the closing stages as Tanvi was once again flirting with danger as she was trailing 5-8 in the decider. That's when coach, Park Tae-sang, gave her much-need words of encouragement. "My coach sir said, 'just play inside, this is your last World Juniors'. In the last game, I was down 5-8, he was saying, 'this could be your last seven points of the event, so just give everything'."
The fact that she pulled off the feat in front of her mother, Meena Sharma, makes it even sweeter. "It's very special that my mom came here and she saw this match. I'm very happy."
After a start full of promise, Tanvi was clearly struggling to find her range. Every time she attempted to toss the shuttle towards the back line, she was overdoing it. And that pattern continued.Park, who was living the rollercoaster ride along with Tanvi, was relieved to have come out on the winning side but had taken plenty of notes for his ward. "I gave her a good scolding. She was leading 10-6 and suddenly, it was 10-12. Six-point miss, that is very bad. Me and the other coach were shouting from behind. The court was faster and when she was lifting and tossing, she was unable to control as it was faster," he said after the match.
"But Tanvi, four or five times, hit outside. So I said, 'Tanvi, if you want to toss, okay, please do it, but a little bit at a higher angle. I asked, 'what happened?. She said, 'coach I'm nervous'. I told her 'you're US Open runner-up, you're a Asia Badminton Championship bronze medallist. Now, this is your home, why do it now, it's just your excuse.'"
All those pep talks by the coach and the way she found answers despite being in a position of disadvantage is a welcome balm for the hosts given that county's shutters lost the reminder of the medal-deciding contests. Now, the duo will be hoping to match Saina's golden feat in the next two days.
Round of 8 results (Indians unless specified): Men's singles: Liu Yang Ming Yu (China) bt Gnana Dattu TT 15-11, 15-13. Women's singles: T Sharma bt Saki Matsumoto (Japan) 13-15, 15-9, 15-10; Anyapat Phichitpreechasak (Thailand) bt Unnati Hooda 15-12, 15-13. Mixed doubles: Hung Bing Fu/Chou Yun An (Chinese Taipei) bt Bhavya Chhabra/Vishakha Toppo 15-9, 15-7; Men's doubles: Bhargav Ram Arigela/Viswa Tej Gobburu lost to Chen Jun Ting/Liu Jun Rong (China) 12-15, 10-15.
