Taipei Open: Blissfully Unaware, Unmistakably Historic

Fresh off the biggest victory of her young career, the 17-year-old Indian was told she had become the youngest champion in Taipei Open history, eclipsing the mark set by her idol, Tai Tzu Ying. Her first response was one of genuine surprise.

“Really? I wasn’t aware of that,” Sharma said with a smile. “It’s such an honour. Tai is my idol. I’m really, really happy to win this title.”

By then, however, history had already been written.

Sharma defeated sixth seed Nguyen Thuy Linh 21-16 21-16 in Sunday’s women’s singles final to capture her first HSBC BWF World Tour title, producing another composed display that belied her age. At just 17 years and 223 days old, she is about eight months younger than when five-time winner Tai claimed her first Taipei Open title in 2012 aged 18 years and 109 days.

The teenager was in command almost throughout the final, trailing only briefly before 4-3 in the second game. It was a fitting conclusion to a remarkable week in which she dropped just one game and became only the second Indian singles player after Saina Nehwal in 2008 to win the Taipei Open. Her latest triumph also made Sharma the youngest player to bag an HSBC BWF World Tour title since Tomoka Miyazaki’s success at the 2024 Orleans Masters.

Despite having beaten Nguyen at the 2025 US Open, Sharma still walked onto court with nerves.

“I was quite nervous,” she said. “I just thought I would give 100 per cent and play my own game. I did that and I think that’s how I won.

“It was pretty hard as well playing five matches but I just needed to stay consistent. I feel I did a lot of things right this week and I handled the drift well, so it all fell into place.”

If Taipei signals the arrival of the next teenage star, Sharma is determined not to get carried away.

“For now, I have to work harder to challenge at Super 500 and Super 750 tournaments,” she said. “I will stay patient and keep working so I can slowly make the step up and stay there.”

The breakthrough has arrived but Sharma’s gaze is already fixed on the climb ahead.