Strutting on the wooden floor,clutching the racquet in her right hand,Tanvi Lad walked on the court at the Punjab University Gymnasium Hall as gaze from spectators flew in her direction. Being the runner-up in the last edition of the Smt Krishna Khaitan Memorial All India Ranking Badminton Tournament,and the favourite to win the title this time the absence of PV Sindhu,the defending champion,she was obvious to catch attention on the eve of the main draw of the tournament. More than the absence of Sindhu,it is Lad's performance this year that holds the trump card for her in the tournament. Before coming into this tournament,Tanvi was the runner-up at the IFCI All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament at Bangalore,and before that she had beaten top seed Neha Pandit,third seed Mudra Dhainje en route to semi-finals in the All India Senior Ranking Tournament at Mumbai in August. "My performances in the last two senior ranking tournaments were very encouraging. Beating seeded players was morale-boosting. Gradually,I am returning back to my best form," Tanvi,number three in junior rankings,said. After nursing a shin injury,which kept her out of action for three months - the period in which her ranking tumbled from one to five,and also missed the junior nationals - Tanvi made a good comeback and played well to reach the pre-quarter-finals of the Asian Junior Badminton Championship at Lucknow. Prior to that,Tanvi enjoyed great domination on the court and won four titles (singles and doubles) in two consecutive Under-16 national tournaments,and toppled seeded players to reach the finals of Under-19 national tournament last year. Training under the watchful eyes of coach Uday Pawar - at one time Prakash Padukone's doubles partner - in Mumbai has definitely helped,and the seven years of hard-work under him has started to show results. Part of credit should also go to her grandmother and mother (both played badminton at the university level),who motivated her to become the player she is now. "I remember I was seven when I had my first brush with badminton. I was already a district-level swimmer,but I was immediately drawn to badminton since playing my first match. Then,I started taking coaching and soon won the Under-10 Inter-School title," recalled Tanvi. At 18,this would be Tanvi's last sojourn in the junior category,but not before taking a shot at the World Junior Championship at Taipei,China in November - a tournament which signalled the arrival of players like Saina Nehwal on the big stage. "I am working hard for the tournament and will try to give my best performance. All the best players from different countries would be taking part in the tournament. So,I will use the remaining time to get into best shape," said the shuttler from Maharashtra.
