The magic of musical melody is in the pause. Prakash Padukone and Vimal Kumar had seen that pause in the notes, the fermata, in Tanvi Patri’s game when her father brought her to the Centre of Badminton Excellence, earlier the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA). At Bengaluru, where her father had returned from his IT job in China, they realised that Tanvi taking a lot of time between points, and not hurrying or rushing like impetuous juniors do, was the X-factor that set her apart from others her age or even older. As also, how she timed her jumps.

The 16-year-old became the first Indian woman to reach the Youth Olympics badminton final, a medal assured. The high notes she hits in a rally are as pristinely struck as the poised pause when she resets between points. “Some strokes she plays, we don’t see them in players her age,” coach Sagar Chopda says.…