In the quiet hours before dawn, when most teenagers are still asleep, Tanvi Sharma was already deep into her training. It was 4 a.m. in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, and under the flickering floodlights, her mother, Meena Sharma, was leading her through punishing badminton drills. Those early morning sessions would become the bedrock of Tanvi’s remarkable journey from a curious child to India’s rising badminton sensation.What began as an attempt to keep her daughters active gradually turned into an all-consuming mission. Meena, who once played volleyball, noticed that Tanvi, the younger of her two girls, had an unusual drive and agility. While Tanvi’s elder sister, Radhika, was the original focus of Meena’s coaching, it was Tanvi who started collecting trophies at a startling pace.Determined to give both daughters every opportunity, Meena took a bold step. The family moved to Hyderabad for several years so Tanvi and Radhika could train at the prestigious Pullela Gopichand Academy, one of India’s most respected badminton nurseries. Not content with merely watching from the sidelines, Meena herself qualified as a coach—making sure her daughters always had guidance even outside the academy walls.After returning to Punjab, the discipline never wavered. Meena would lock the stadium gates behind them in the early mornings to avoid distractions, and training would go on for hours before the girls left for school. This rigorous routine shaped Tanvi’s mental toughness and athletic sharpness.That foundation bore fruit spectacularly. Tanvi climbed the national rankings with a string of junior titles, often competing in multiple age categories simultaneously. Her aggressive style and consistency soon drew comparisons to India’s Olympic medallists, and she earned the respect of top coaches. In 2025, her efforts culminated in a breakout performance at the US Open Badminton Championship, where she stunned higher-ranked players and announced her arrival on the international stage.Now, at just 16, Tanvi has become a symbol of what discipline, sacrifice, and family support can achieve. But her story is as much about her mother as it is about her own skill. It’s about the countless mornings Meena traded sleep for the hope that her daughters might someday stand on a podium.Today, that dream is coming true. And while Tanvi’s ambitions stretch far beyond the US Open, she knows none of it would have been possible without the woman who believed in her before anyone else—and who was willing to switch on the lights at 4 a.m. to prove it.
Discussion about this post