LUCKNOW, Nov. 28 -- It's always a dream for a young shuttler to make her presence felt on the world stage, and that too in the senior grade, in style. Thursday was the day when Tanvi Sharma's dream came true when she defeated Olympic bronze medalist and former World No 1, Nozomi Okuhara in a thriller, by 2-1, at the Syed Modi International Badminton Tournament. Tanvi's win over an Olympic medalist is not just a personal milestone but will be a source of inspiration for many young athletes in India, especially those aiming to make their mark in international badminton. It was a true example of Tanvi's talent, determination, grit and aspiration to go up in the ladder as she came from behind to outplay her Japanese rival 16-21, 21-19, 21-17 in the women's singles pre-quarterfinals. It was the second major upset of the day, especially after a determined Manrahj Singh brushed aside World Championship bronze medalist HS Prannoy 21-15, 21-18 in straight games to make it to the men's singles quarterfinals. In fact, a win in the Super 300 event, is being hailed as a significant breakthrough in World Junior Championship silver medalist Tanvi's career, marking her arrival on the global stage with a remarkable win against one of the sport's elite players. The match was intense from the outset, with Tanvi demonstrating a combination of powerful smashes, tactical placement, and remarkable court coverage especially in the second game after losing the first one. Okuhara, known for her calm composure and experience, initially tried to dominate the proceedings, but Tanvi's resilience and sharp reflexes kept her in contention throughout the second game. In the decider, Tanvi's ability to maintain focus under pressure and counterattack with precision ultimately turned the match in her favour. As the final shuttlecock hit the ground with Tanvi clinching the winning point, emotion overwhelmed her. With joyful tears and a broad smile, she celebrated the win that she had been dreaming about for a long time. She expressed how hard she had worked for this moment, enduring rigorous training sessions, overcoming self-doubt, and pushing her limits to reach this stage. "I didn't play well in world juniors and still I won. But after world juniors and my ankle injury, I took a little break. But this was my first tournament after that and I am happy that I could live up to the expectations," said Tanvi after the match. She also made a candid confession that she wasn't expecting this when she made it to the Court No 2 on Thursday afternoon. "I didn't expect that I would defeat Okuhara. I just thought that I would play my best, and in reality I played very well." "I committed many unforeseen errors in the first game, but after a change in the end, my coach told me to give up hard. Just give your everything. So, I didn't think much in the second game. I just played my all," she said, adding, "In the third game also, I played my all as the coach again said that don't think about winning or something but just play your game." However, she said that before winning the final few points, she had almost lost her energy. "Yes, I was very tired even at 15-11 as Okuhara was pushing me for long rallies even then. But I stayed calm and then I came back for the points," she said, adding, "There was no pressure on me because I didn't think much about winning or losing before winning the second game." In the men's singles match Commonwealth Games gold medalist Prannoy never found the going easy against Manrahj, who kept his rival on his toes in both games. Though Asian Games bronze medalist Prannoy raised his game in the second essay, it didn't make a difference to world no 73 ranked Singh, who crossed the finish line with three consecutive points. Fifth-seeded and former World No 1 K Srikanth defeated Sanish Dayanand 21-6, 21-16, whereas Priyanshu Rajawat defeated compatriot BM Rahul Bharadwaj 21-16, 10-21, 21-12....