Tanvi Sharma clinches maiden BWF World Tour title at Taipei Open

Seventeen-year-old Tanvi Sharma captured her maiden BWF World Tour title by defeating Vietnam's Thuy Linh Nguyen in straight games to win the Taipei Open Super 300. The victory made her the first Indian women's singles champion at the event since 2008

Taipei City: Teen Indian sensation Tanvi Sharma won her maiden BWF World Tour title after defeating Vietnam’s sixth seed Thuy Linh Nguyen 21-16 21-16 in the women’s singles final of the Taipei Open Super 300 badminton tournament here on Sunday.

The 17-year-old from Punjab, who had finished runner-up at last year’s US Open Super 300, needed just 36 minutes to outclass Nguyen in the summit clash. Coached by PV Sindhu’s former mentor Park Tae-sang, Tanvi also became the first Indian to win the women’s singles title at the Taipei Open since Saina Nehwal, who had lifted the trophy in 2008.

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Tanvi made a flying start, repeatedly catching Nguyen at the front court with deft drops played with the same action as a smash to open up a 4-1 lead. The Vietnamese struggled to read the Indian’s deception and also found it difficult to judge the drift, going wide twice as Tanvi mixed steep cross-court smashes with her trademark touch to surge to a 10-2 advantage.

The Indian, however, suddenly slipped into a string of errors, struggling to keep the shuttle inside the lines. She eventually produced a timely smash to carry a three-point lead into the mid-game interval, with coach Park Tae-sang urging her to relax.

Tanvi found her rhythm after the break, producing powerful smashes from both flanks to move 15-9 ahead. Though she gifted away a few points with errors at the net and from the back court, she regained control, earning five game points before sealing the opening game with a cross-court smash.

After the change of ends, Nguyen opened a 3-0 lead by making Tanvi cover the court with sharp angles. But the Indian slowly began dictating the rallies, drawing level at 3-3 with a fine net shot before once again pushing her opponent deep and catching her at the net with deft touches.

Nguyen’s inconsistency also helped Tanvi build an 8-4 lead before another patch of errors allowed the Vietnamese to close the gap to 7-8, prompting Park to tap his head in frustration. Two exquisite deceptive winners helped Tanvi take an 11-8 lead at the interval.

The Indian gradually stretched the advantage to 15-10 and then 18-12, her deception once again fetching crucial points. At 19-12, Tanvi unsuccessfully challenged a line call after being ruled late, but soon earned seven match points with a smash. A nervous finish saw her squander three of them before she finally converted to seal her maiden BWF title. In a heartwarming moment, Tanvi took off her gold medal and placed it around coach Park Tae-sang’s neck before the two posed together for photographs.

At 17 years and 222 days, Tanvi is the youngest finalist in the tournament’s history, surpassing Korean doubles great Lee Yong Dae, who was 17 years and 287 days old when he reached the men’s doubles final in 2006.

Tanvi had become the first Indian to win two medals at a single edition of the World Junior Championships, securing silver in girls’ singles and bronze in the mixed team event. She was also a member of the Indian team that won the country’s maiden gold medal at the Asian Team Championships. A former world junior No. 1, Tanvi reached her maiden Super 300 final at the 2025 US Open at the age of 16. She also finished runner-up at the Odisha Masters Super 100 and Guwahati Masters Super 100.