World No. 12 junior shuttler Tanya Hemanth aims for top-five ranking this year

BENGALURU: Tanya Hemanth’s introduction to badminton was pure coincidence. Watching her mother Rani play the sport at the Indiranagar Club, Tanya, eight years old then, decided to give it a try.
A decade later, she is now one of the prominent names in junior badminton, ranked 12th in the world in singles. With the season expected to restart soon, Tanya is aiming to be ranked among the top five this year.
The 17-year-old felt the pandemic-induced break had helped her improve her game and attitude.
“I couldn’t pay attention to certain aspects of my game due to the tight schedule. I felt let down when I lost points, which affected my performance. But during the break, I read a lot on mental health and worked on it, practised yoga. Now I feel much better,” said Tanya, who last played at the German Open junior event in March 2020, said.
“I also worked on my physical fitness and found time for my other pastimes — drawing, painting and dancing,” she added.
Tanya made a big impact on age-group badminton in 2012, winning the U-10, U-12 team events, singles and doubles titles for National Public School, Indiranagar, in the Canara Union inter-school badminton tournament.
Three years later, she won three U-13 state-ranking tournaments, while in 2016 and 2017 she reigned in the U-15 category. Tanya won her first National U-13 ranking doubles crown at Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, in 2014 while the U-15 singles title came at the ranking tournament in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, in 2017.
Although she made an impact with her doubles game from then on across the country, including the U-19 gold in the Chandigarh junior ranking tournament in January 2020, Tanya, who is ranked fifth among juniors in the country, said she had shifted her attention to singles.
“After I reached the U-19 category, I decided singles will be my sole focus and I feel I am doing good in it.”
Tanya said the most memorable year in her career so far was 2017 when she won laurels on the national circuit.
“I won the bronze in singles and gold in doubles at the sub-junior (U-15) Nationals at Tenali (AP) in 2017. I became a national champion and that was an exciting moment.”
While it was Saina Nehwal who inspired her in her formative years, Tanya said her role model now was top Chinese Taipei shuttler Tai Tzu-Ying.
“I like her defensive strokes a lot and my game is a bit like hers,” she said.
Tanya, who started participating in international tournaments from 2017 onwards, claimed her first crown in 2018 at the Dubai Junior International Series. She later won silver in Cyprus Junior in 2019 and bronze in both singles and doubles in Dubai the same year.
Tanya’s international exposure, particularly in Europe, helped her understand the importance of power and fitness in the game.
“When I played in Indonesia, the conditions were somewhat like in India — be it the weather or players. But when I first participated in a tournament in Croatia, I found the players were well-built. That tournament helped me to prepare better for the Cyprus event where I won silver."
Having started out at Indiranagar Club, Tanya has trained with BN Sudhakar at his academy at NGV and I-Sports, where she spent six and a half years. Now she is with the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA).
A final-year commerce student at the Jain PU College, Tanya said she was able to manage both badminton and academics, thanks to her parents Hemanth Kumar and Rani.
“After my training sessions six days a week, I also attend online tuition for my PU studies and the encouragement and support from my parents has helped me balance both very well,” she said.
PPBA chief coach Vimal Kumar felt Tanya needed to develop a finishing stroke and work on her temperament.
“Most of the Indian girls’ problem is with the finishing stroke, even though they are technically good. Tanya is young, has better strength and is quick on the court. Also, she needs to work on her temperament. She can improve on it in another two to three years and then make a mark at the international circuit,” he added.
Krishna Kumar of I-Sports, who mentored Tanya, lauded her deceptive game.
“Her fitness is good, she is hard-working. She is a fighter, very confident about her abilities. She can create upsets and that is a champion quality.”