The 14-year-old phenom not only claimed the top honor but also ended India’s 36-year wait for a U-15 Girls’ Singles champion in the tournament.
Photo: ANI
History was made on Thursday as Divyanshi Bhowmick secured the gold medal at the 2025 Asian Youth Table Tennis Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The 14-year-old phenom not only claimed the top honor but also ended India’s 36-year wait for a U-15 Girls’ Singles champion in the tournament.
Advertisement
The last Indian to achieve this milestone was Subramanian Bhuvaneswari, who had won the title back in 1985 when New Delhi hosted the event.
Advertisement
Entering the competition as the second seed, Bhowmick showcased exceptional skill and composure in the final, overcoming Zhu Qihi of China in a gripping 4-2 victory (13-11, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-8). Her path to gold was particularly impressive as she defeated three Chinese opponents throughout the tournament.
With this triumph, Bhowmick has also secured her place in the upcoming World Youth Table Tennis Championships, set to take place in Romania this November.
Her most hard-fought victory came in the semi-finals, where she edged past China’s Liu Ziling in a fiercely contested seven-game thriller.
In the final, Bhowmick held her nerves to go past the Chinese opponent using her strong backhand and hence put pressure on her opponent till the last set.
Bhowmick’s historic win has brought immense pride to the nation and marks a new chapter in Indian table tennis.
Before her Asian Championship triumph, Bhowmick had already made waves by winning the Best Women’s Player (Overall) award at Maharashtra’s Table Tennis Super League in April 2025, showcasing her consistent excellence.
At the Asian Youth Championships, India delivered an impressive overall performance, finishing the tournament with four medals—a gold (Bhowmick’s historic win), a silver, and two bronze medals—marking one of the country’s strongest showings in recent years at the youth level.
Advertisement
