Gnana Dattu, playing in his first world juniors, defeated 8th seed Garret Tan of USA 15-12, 15-13 in boys\u2019 singles, while Bhavya and Vishakha fought back after losing the opening game to beat third seeded French combination of Thibault Gardon and Agathe Cuevas 12-15, 15-11, 15-12 to reach the quarterfinals.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Girls\u2019 singles top seed Tanvi dominated China\u2019s Sun Li Yuan for a 15-8, 15-5 win while eighth seed Unnati recovered from a bad start to beat Carine Tee of Malaysia 15-10, 15-7. In the quarterfinals, Tanvi will face Japan\u2019s Saki Matsumoto while Unnati will take on second seed Anyapat Phichitpreechasak of Thailand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
While Tanvi and Unnati lived up to the expectations, Gnana Dattu and the pairing of Bhavya and Vishakha punched above their weight to getting within striking distance of a possible medal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Playing against an experienced opponent, Gnana Dattu showcased his racquet skills as he executed late flicks and flat pushes, particularly under pressure, to outmaneuver Tan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In both games, Dattu and Tan focused on not making any errors in the earlier exchanges and it was the Indian who managed to grab the initiative from 8-8. Having understood the conditions and his opponent\u2019s game plan, the 17-year-old created opportunities with delectable slow drops and sharp dribbles to gain a comfortable advantage and then kept his nerves to close out the match.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In the second game, Tan managed to save three match points from 10-14 down as Dattu suddenly tried to avoid mistakes but the Indian managed to hold his nerves on the fourth point to seal his quarterfinal spot.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThough he has more experience than me because he has played a few senior tournaments, I was confident that I can beat him if I can play at my best and I am happy that I could do that today,\u201d said Gnana Dattu, who is playing in his first World Junior Championships.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On the adjacent court, Bhavya and Toppo perfectly executed the game plan from the better side of the court to upset the third seeds from France.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThough he has more experience than me because he has played a few senior tournaments, I was confident that I can beat him if I can play at my best and I am happy that I could do that today,\u201d said Gnana Dattu, who is playing in his first World Junior Championships.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWhile trailing at 8-11, the coach told us to attack more and play soft at the net to ensure that we get to attack more. We simply listened to the coach as it was easier to attack from this side,\u201d said Bhavya after the match.Bhavya and Vishakha will now face Chinese Taipei\u2019s Hung Bing Fu and Chou Yun An, who defeated Korea\u2019s Kim Tae Hyun and Moon In Seo 15-9, 15-11 in the other pre-quarterfinals.<\/p>\r\n\r\n