India’s teenage badminton star Tanvi Sharma continued her impressive run at the Taipei Open 2026, defeating home favourite Huang Yu-Hsun in straight games to book her place in the women’s singles final on Friday.
The world No. 34 produced a clinical display to beat the fifth seed 21-17, 21-11 in just 33 minutes, moving within one win of her maiden BWF World Tour title.
Tanvi looked in complete control throughout the semifinal, a contrast to her hard-fought quarterfinal victory over Thailand’s Supanida Katethong, where she had been pushed much harder.
The victory also keeps alive the prospect of an all-Indian final. Unnati Hooda, ranked world No. 28, was scheduled to face Vietnam’s sixth seed Nguyen Thuy Linh in the second semifinal later on Friday.
Both Tanvi and Unnati have already been named in India’s squad for the 2026 Asian Games, underlining the country’s growing depth in women’s singles.
Meanwhile, India’s challenge in the men’s singles came to an end after Kiran George suffered a 21-12, 21-10 defeat to Japan’s fourth seed Yudai Okimoto in the quarterfinals.
Kiran had become India’s last remaining men’s singles contender following HS Prannoy’s exit in the round of 16 but was unable to trouble the higher-ranked Japanese shuttler.
India’s doubles campaign had concluded earlier in the tournament after Bhargav Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gobburu were eliminated in the opening round of the men’s doubles event.
All-India Finals Gets Washed As Unnati Hooda Loses
Meanwhile, the dreams of an all-India final remained unfulfilled as Unnati Hooda faced a crushing defeat at the hands of Nguyen Thuy Linh. The sixth seed Nguyen Thuy Linh defeated Hooda 15-21, 18-21 in straight sets.
The Indian shuttler looked tired from the opening game itself, committing many unforced errors during the match. In the second game post the mid-game interval, Hooda had taken a sizable lead of nearly 5 points.
However, a host of blunders and costly mistakes led Hooda to give away that lead. Subsequently, there was no turning back for the Vietnamese shuttler.
Tanvi Sharma will now face Linh in the women’s singles final of the Taipei Open 2026 on Sunday.