On January 15, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor hailed 16-year-old Tasnim Mir from Mehsana, Gujarat, for securing World No 1 in Junior ranking. In his tweet, he wrote, “Congratulations to 16-year-old Tasnim Mir, daughter of an ASI from Mehsana, Gujarat, the first Under-19 Indian #Badminton player to be ranked World No1 in Junior rankings! Even her idols PV Sindhu & Saina Nehwal didn’t attain that. You have made all Indians proud, Tasnim Mir!”
Though Mir’s achievement is noteworthy and deserves to applaud, Shashi Tharoor and many media houses got the facts incorrect or misleading in the matter. Mir is indeed the first under-19 woman to secure World No 1 in Junior ranking, but it has to be noted that she is not the first Indian to do so, as claimed by Shashi Tharoor. The Congress leader claimed that Tasnim Mir is the first under-19 Indian Badminton player to be ranked number 1 in the world junior rankings, which is a completely false claim.
Before Tasnim Mir, three Indian under-19 India badminton players had ranked number 1 in world rankings.
Aditya Joshi secured World no one ranking on 2014
In 2014, then-17-year-old Aditya Joshi secured World No 1 ranking of the World Badminton Federation (WBF). He jumped from 11th position till November ’13 to 1st position in January ’14 by achieving 18,766 points. Joshi was the first Indian to secure the position.
Siril Verma secured World no one ranking in 2016
After Joshi, Siril Verma became the second junior badminton player from India to rank in a single category. Then-16-year-old Verma became the World No 1 in the Junior Men category in 2016. Verma was accused of age fudging four months before he secured the position. He got cleared by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Four months later, he secured the No 1 position.
Lakshya Sen secured World no one ranking in 2017
The third Indian to secure world number 1 ranking in the Junior Men category was Lakshya Sen, who achieved the position in 2017. Lakshya achieved 16,903 points in eight tournaments leading to his achievement as World No 1 in the Junior Men category. His brother Chirag Sen had secured World No 2 ranking prior to Lakshya’s achievement.
However, all three previous top rank holders were boys, and therefore Tasmin Mir is the first girl to achieve the top ranking. But as Shashi Tharoor claimed that she is the first Indian player, not the first woman player, he made a misleading claim in his tweet.
Saina Nehwal never got a chance to secure under-19 ranking
Another point that Tharoor missed was the age factor that made it impossible for Nehwal to secure World No one position in WBF. The organization started World Ranking in the Junior category in 2011. At that time, Nehwal was 21 years old. It was impossible for her to secure the position.
Tharoor was not the only one to make a mistake. Some media houses also published misleading reports about Mir’s achievement.
The Print’s headline was misleading as it did not mention that she secured the top ranking in the Women category.
Zee News misled about Saina Nehwal in its heading.
Hindustan Times report was misleading as crucial info about her securing world no 1 ranking in women category was missing.
While there is no denying the fact that Tasnim Mir achievement should be celebrated, it is essential not to miss the achievements of other Indian players out of excitement.
