18 years after Saina Nehwal, Tanvi Sharma brings Taipei Open title back to India | Badminton News


18 years after Saina Nehwal, Tanvi Sharma brings Taipei Open title back to India
Tanvi Sharma (Image credit: BAI)

Indian badminton player Tanvi Sharma won the first BWF World Tour title of her career after beating Vietnam’s Thuy Linh Nguyen in the women’s singles final of the Taipei Open Super 300 on Sunday.The 17-year-old from Punjab defeated the sixth seed 21-16, 21-16 in just 36 minutes to lift her maiden Super 300 trophy. Tanvi, who is coached by Park Tae-sang, the former coach of PV Sindhu, also became the first Indian woman to win the Taipei Open singles title since Saina Nehwal in 2008.

Dominant display in the final

Tanvi made an excellent start and used her clever drop shots and deceptive strokes to trouble Nguyen. She quickly raced to a 10-2 lead in the opening game.Although a few unforced errors allowed the Vietnamese player to reduce the gap, Tanvi regained control after the mid-game break. Strong smashes from both sides of the court helped her seal the first game 21-16.Nguyen started the second game better and moved 3-0 ahead, but Tanvi fought back to level the score at 3-3. She once again mixed powerful smashes with delicate net shots to take control of the rallies.The Indian gradually increased her lead to 15-10 and then 18-12. She earned seven match points and, despite missing three of them, finished the match with another winner to claim the biggest title of her career.

Emotional moment with coach

After winning the title, Tanvi celebrated by taking off her gold medal and placing it around the neck of her coach Park Tae-sang. The two then posed together for photographs in a heartwarming moment.

Another milestone for the teenage star

At 17 years and 222 days, Tanvi became the youngest finalist in the history of the Taipei Open, breaking the previous record held by Korean doubles legend Lee Yong Dae, who reached the men’s doubles final in 2006 at 17 years and 287 days.Tanvi has enjoyed a rapid rise over the last two years. 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.She was also part of the Indian team that won the country’s first-ever gold medal at the Asian Team Championships.A former world junior No. 1, Tanvi had finished runner-up at the 2025 US Open Super 300, as well as the Odisha Masters Super 100 and Guwahati Masters Super 100, before finally winning her maiden BWF World Tour title in Taipei.



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