Tasnim Mir became the first Indian female to ranked world no. 1 in the under-19 singles category on January 12, 2022.
Tasnim Mir, the 16-year-old female badminton player, hailing from Gujarat, clinches the title of becoming the first Indian female to be crowned as world no. 1 in the under-19 singles category on January 12, 2022. She jumped three places to reach the top and scored 10,810 points.
This creditable feat surpassed all the previous wins by other sportswomen like Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu. Saina could not make the cut for being a junior when the BWF (Badminton World Federation) junior rankings started in 2011 and Sindhu was world no. 2 during her under-19 juniors.
Tasnim’s glory was a great surprise for her as well as the nation. In one of her interviews, she said, “I am really thrilled by this feat. It’s a great honor. I was not expecting this at all as I stopped playing in this age group. I was world no. 2 last year and never thought I will become no. 1.”
Tasnim started her badminton career at the age of 7 with her father cum badminton coach, Irfan Ali Mir backing her all the way. She recognizes him as a solid support system who laid a good foundation to pave the way for her future achievements. She started her professional training in 2017 at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton, Hyderabad, and later moved to Guwahati, Assam in 2020 at the Assam Badminton Academy, as her mixed doubles partner, Ayan Rashid used to train there. Overwhelmed with the facilities, she chose to continue there under the Indonesian coach, Edwin Iriawan. “I moved there to train with my partner. But now I want to continue here,” said Tasnim.
Tasnim said, “My move to Hyderabad was surprising and I enjoyed my time there under Gopi Sir. Since my move to Guwahati under coach Iriawan, I have developed my stamina and gameplay which has given me international success.”
She made a breakthrough in her career at domestic and international levels in 2018 by winning the under-15 singles and doubles titles at the All India Sub Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament in Hyderabad and Nagpur in January and July respectively. The same year she won a gold medal in the women’s double at the Badminton Asia Junior under-17 and under-15 championships.
Out of all her 22 wins in different categories till now, she credited this win to her previous four junior international tournament achievements. Three of them – Bulgarian Junior Championship, Alpes International, and Belgian Junior were in 2021. She said that “this new rank will bolster her confidence.”
Presently she is in Gujarat at home, due to lockdown and taking online training sessions conducted by the Badminton Association of India along with her online academic classes. Tasnim is now training hard to score well in the senior category. “Last year I started playing the senior category with Bangladesh International. I want to do well in this section,” said Tasnim.
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