Punjab shuttler Tanvi Sharma beats Vietnams Thuy Linh Nguyen, wins maiden BWF World Tour title at Taipei Open
Tanvi had finished runner-up at the US Open Super 300 last year and has now gone one step further by lifting her maiden World Tour trophy.
PTC News Desk: Teenage badminton star Tanvi Sharma clinched her first-ever BWF World Tour title after defeating Vietnam's sixth seed Nguyen Thuy Linh 21-16, 21-16 in the women's singles final of the Taipei Open on Sunday.
The 17-year-old from Punjab wrapped up the title in just 36 minutes, adding a major milestone to her young career. Tanvi had finished runner-up at the US Open Super 300 last year and has now gone one step further by lifting her maiden World Tour trophy.
Coached by Park Tae-sang, the former mentor of P. V. Sindhu, Tanvi also became the first Indian woman since Saina Nehwal to win the Taipei Open women's singles title, with Saina having achieved the feat in 2008.
Tanvi dominated the opening game with sharp drop shots, deceptive strokes and powerful cross-court smashes to race to a big lead. Although she briefly lost momentum with a series of errors, she regained control to take the first game before comfortably sealing the second.
One of the most memorable moments came after the victory when Tanvi removed her gold medal and placed it around coach Park Tae-sang's neck before the two celebrated together with photographs.
At 17 years and 222 days, Tanvi also became the youngest finalist in Taipei Open history, 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 already built an impressive résumé at a young age. She became the first Indian to win two medals at a single edition of the World Junior Championships, claiming silver in girls' singles and bronze in the mixed team event. She was also part of India's historic squad that won its maiden Asian Team Championships gold medal.
A former world junior No. 1, Tanvi had reached her first Super 300 final at the 2025 US Open at the age of 16 and also finished runner-up at the Odisha Masters Super 100 and Guwahati Masters Super 100. Her Taipei Open triumph marks the biggest title of her career so far.