'Want to win women's singles medal'

IN a familiar space where she trains day in and day out, Tanvi Sharma was surprisingly playing the chasing game in the initial stages of her women's singles Round of 32 meeting against Oei Louisa Jovanka Sandi Winarto of Indonesia at the National Centre of Excellence (NCOE), here.

- ANMOL GURUNG @Guwahati

Her coach Park Tae-sang sat helpless behind her as the teenager continued to stray the shuttles.

But Tanvi, who is considered to be one of the brightest singles prospects in the country, recovered 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 name. Given that India has never had a medallist in the women's singles category besides Saina Nehwal, who captured gold in 2008 at the BWF World Jr C'ships, this is a win that keeps them firmly in contention for 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.