TAIPEI — Seventeen-year-old Indian shuttler Tanvi Sharma clinched 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 on Sunday. The Punjab native needed just 36 minutes to outclass world No. 21 Nguyen, becoming the youngest champion in Taipei Open history at 17 years and 222 days old and surpassing the mark previously held by Tai Tzu Ying.
Coached by Park Tae-sang, former mentor to PV Sindhu, Tanvi also became the first Indian to claim the women’s singles trophy in Taipei since Saina Nehwal’s triumph in 2008. The unseeded teenager delivered a commanding performance throughout the week, dropping only a single game across five matches.
The victory marked a redemption of sorts for Tanvi, who had finished runner-up at last year’s US Open Super 300. Relying on tactical deception, front-court drops, and steep cross-court smashes, she overcame brief mid-game rallies from Nguyen in both games to secure the summit clash. Celebrating the milestone, Tanvi placed her gold medal around coach Park’s neck during the podium ceremony. Her rapid rise from training under her mother, Meena Sharma, in Hoshiarpur to capturing her first senior international title solidifies her standing as one of Indian badminton’s premier rising talents.
