Asia Junior Championships: Tanvi Patri wins U17 title in all-Indian final

Fifteen-year-old Tanvi Patri won the girls' singles U17 title at the Badminton Asia U17 & U15 Junior Championships on Sunday, beating fellow Indian Shaina Manimuthu in an all-Indian final.

The second seed recovered from a slow start to beat Manimuthu 11-15, 15-10, 15-12 and claim the continental title. The Odisha youngster had won her first international title at the Pontianak International Challenge before clinching the All India Junior U19 Badminton Ranking Tournament in Bengaluru earlier this year.

Patri has now followed her 2024 U15 Asian title with the U17 crown. Her run to the final was not straightforward. After receiving a first-round bye, she was tested by China's Zhou Jing Li in her opening match.

Patri edged the first game 18-16, but Zhou hit back to take the second 15-12 and force a decider. The Indian held her nerve to win the third game 15-13 and move into the next round.

She then defeated Japan's Shizuku Kashio 15-9, 15-12 before beating China's Lin Heng Men 15-8, 15-8 in the quarter-finals. The semi-final brought another tough test against China's Yu Ying Gui. Patri took the opening game 15-9, but Yu levelled the match with a 15-11 win in the second.

Patri kept her composure in the decider and closed out a 15-11 victory to book her place in the final. Manimuthu, the sixth seed, also enjoyed a strong run to the title clash. She beat Japan's Yui Itabashi in the quarter-finals to set up a semi-final against another Japanese player, Anon Okimoto.

Manimuthu won that contest 15-13, 15-12 to reach the final. The final was a rematch of the two Indians' meeting at the All India Junior U19 Badminton Ranking Tournament in Bengaluru earlier this year.

Manimuthu made the better start, taking the opening game 15-11. Patri responded in the second, winning 15-10 to level the match before sealing the title with a 15-12 win in the decider.

The victory also saw India retain the U17 girls' singles title for a second successive year. Diksha Sudhakar won the crown in 2025.

For Manimuthu, the silver medal adds to her continental record after she won the U15 Asian title last year. India also finished on the podium in the U15 boys' doubles event, with Aaditya Singh Negi and Tanmay Verma winning bronze.

The Indian pair's run ended in the semi-finals on Saturday, when they lost 5-15, 10-15 to Chinese Taipei's Bo Lin Ho and Jui En Hou.- EndsPublished By: Saurabh KumarPublished On: Sep 13, 2026 18:31 IST