India’s double olympic medallist PV Sindhu heaped big praise on the 14-year-old Tanvi Patri as the latter reached the semi-finals of the 2025 Senior National Badminton Championships in Vijaywada on Friday.
“Tanvi Patri… are we watching a future face of Indian badminton rise right in front of us?,” wrote Sindhu in a social media post.
“She trains next to me in Bangalore and I’ve always loved her game. Maybe because I see a little bit of myself in her. Maybe because I see a little bit of myself in her. The way she plays with heart and with that smile,” she added.
She beat the experienced Aakarshi Kashyap 21-16, 12-21, 22-20 in a hard fought quarter-final battle.
It wasn’t just Patri that Sindhu was impressed by. The former women’s singles world champion also lauded the overall depth in the discipline in the country as the national championships produced multiple upsets.
“Loving how competitive Nationals have been this year,” wrote Sindhu.
“The depth in Indian badminton is growing and it’s so exciting to watch. I honestly thought Unnati or Tanvi might take it far, but Cherry played fearless badminton today and Rakshitha stepped up as well with solid badminton,” she added.
Surya Charishma Tamiri aka Cherry, the fifth seed in the competition, toppled top seed Unnati Hooda in straight games in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Meanwhile, Rakshitha Sree got the better of the BWF World Junior Championships silver medallist Tanvi Sharma to book her spot in the semi-finals as well.
