Indian shuttler Tanvi Sharma clinched the women's singles title at the Taipei Open Super 300 on Sunday, beating Vietnam's Nguyen Thuy Linh 21-16, 21-16 in the final to win the biggest title of her career.
The 17-year-old from Punjab wrapped up the match in 36 minutes to claim her maiden BWF World Tour title. With the win, she became the youngest champion in the tournament's history and the first Indian woman to lift the title since Saina Nehwal in 2008.
Tanvi On Winning Taipei Open
After the win, Tanvi said she had not come into the tournament expecting to lift the title and instead focused on taking it one match at a time.
"I didn't expect to win the title. I just wanted to give my best and take it match by match. I'm really happy with how I played throughout the tournament," she said.
The teenager was one of the standout performers of the tournament, losing only one game on her way to the title. She had also defeated Nguyen at last year's US Open, and once again outplayed the Vietnamese shuttler with her clever shot selection, quick court coverage and confident attacking game.
She also admitted that she was nervous before the final but trusted her game. "I was quite nervous, but I just thought I will play my 100 percent, what I have in my game, I will play that," she said.
Talking about the demanding week, Tanvi added, "It was pretty hard for me as well, playing five matches. But yeah, I just needed to be consistent. I have to work harder for playing Super 500 and 750s. So I'll be keep working hard."
A Rising Badminton Star
Tanvi had already built an impressive junior career before this breakthrough. A former world junior No. 1, she became the first Indian to win two medals at a single World Junior Championships, claiming silver in girls' singles and bronze in the mixed team event.
ALSO READ:
She also represented India in the team that won the country's first-ever gold medal at the Asian Team Championships. In 2025, she reached her first Super 300 final at the US Open at just 16 years of age and later finished runner-up at both the Odisha Masters Super 100 and Guwahati Masters Super 100.
Where It All Began?
Tanvi began her badminton journey in Hoshiarpur, where her mother, Meena Sharma, learnt the sport to coach her and regularly trained with her from 4 am.
She later moved to the National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati to train under South Korean coach Park Tae-sang, who previously coached PV Sindhu to an Olympic bronze medal. After winning the Taipei Open title, Tanvi thanked her coach in a special way by placing her gold medal around his neck before they celebrated together.
ALSO READ: ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2027 Returns To Africa: 12 Venues, New Format And Brand Unveiled
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.