Youngest ever finalist Tanvi Sharma stuns sixth seed to win Maiden BWF Super 300 Title
Teen Indian shuttler Tanvi Sharma clinched her maiden 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 Super 300 on Sunday.
The 17-year-old from Punjab needed just 36 minutes to overcome Nguyen and became the first Indian woman to win the Taipei Open title since Saina Nehwal triumphed in 2008.
Coached by former PV Sindhu mentor Park Tae-sang, Tanvi controlled the match with her deceptive drops and powerful smashes to secure a straight-game victory.
She made a fast start, using deft drops to take a 4-1 lead before capitalising on Nguyen's errors to move 10-2 ahead. Although a string of mistakes allowed the Vietnamese to reduce the deficit, Tanvi regained her composure and took the opening game.
Nguyen began the second game strongly, opening up a 3-0 lead, but Tanvi soon found her rhythm and levelled the score. Her sharp net play and deceptive shots helped her take an 11-8 lead at the interval.
Tanvi extended her advantage to 18-12 and earned seven match points at 20-13. Despite wasting three opportunities, she eventually sealed the title with a smash.
In an emotional moment after the victory, Tanvi removed her gold medal and placed it around Park's neck before posing with her coach for photographs.
At 17 years and 222 days, Tanvi also became the youngest finalist in Taipei Open history, surpassing Korean doubles star Lee Yong Dae, who was 17 years and 287 days old when he reached the men's doubles final in 2006.
Tanvi had earlier become the first Indian to win two medals at a single edition of the World Junior Championships, taking silver in the women's singles and bronze in the mixed team event. She was also part of India's gold-medal winning team at the Asian Team Championships.
A former world junior No. 1, Tanvi reached her first Super 300 final at the 2025 US Open, where she finished runner-up. She has also been runner-up at the Odisha Masters and Guwahati Masters Super 100 events.
