Tanvi Sharma becomes youngest Taipei Open champion, since Tai Tzu-Ying

Tanvi defeated Vietnamese Thuy Linh Nguyen to win her maiden Super 300 at the Taipei Open where her propensity to squander advantages lent some additional drama to proceedings, apart from her shot-making that included quality straight smashes.

Coached by her badminton-loving mother in her early years, the younger of two daughters had literally cornered her mother’s attention with the timing on her smashes and drops. She strikes the shuttle from the sweet spot of the racquet head, hits it at a precise stage of its flight and transfers power into the shoulder and snappiness into the wrist to make it a terrifically-timed hit. Hers is a game that will impress neutral fans by its sheer silk.

In Tai Tzu-ying territory of the Taipei Arena, India’s youngest Nationals finalist added many fans. But the theatre wasn’t far away.

The Indian led 10-2 before allowing her opponent to make it 10-8. The big lead was built by using those straight smashes on either flank. It was the first of four mini-phases when Tanvi’s lead got whittled down to make the match interesting and life difficult for herself.

Coach Park Tae-Sang has brought focus and formidability to Tanvi’s game, but both tend to be nervous wrecks when she goes about her tantalising strokemaking. The main course of winners comes with a side dish of errors and bitten nails for fans. So even as the smash was bulking up her lead, she was capable of erring in the net and sending shots long or wide.

The 10-8 return from Nguyen was snapped by a get-out-of-trouble straight smash. A slight hop, the zippy shoulder and smack with a rich drizzle of timing. Tanvi would send one down the other flank to take her lead to 14-9. In between came a smooth net deception to get to 12-9.

Pristine skill

Those slashed smashes found a variation at 17-9 when one was slightly angled, not cross, just crooked. But always deep into the backcourt. The shot variety compared not just to Tai Tzu-ying’s, but also to the other Taiwanese great who was in attendance: two-time Olympic champion in men’s doubles and now the country’s Sports Minister, Lee Yang.

Wrapping up the first game, however, was made entertaining by the Indian. From 19-12 up, Tanvi continued to wrack up errors with her drops straying wide, the pushes heading long as Nguyen came to 15-19. But the smash was back – a reboot, a confidence-booster, a supercharger to her game that somehow brings her back on track. She would take the opener 21-16.

The Indian started the second game 0-3 down, but was quickly back in possession of the lead at 8-4 and 15-8 on the back of all-court roundedness and her pet stroke. But a moment of magic that got Tai Tzu-ying land in a tizzy was to come at 12-9. Tanvi had sent a backhand from close to the backline, and stuck out the racquet to her right and flicked the wrist for a forehand push on the next return that was reminiscent of a viral Shoibul Fikri-stroke. At 17, it was a pristine skill.

The 15-8 lead was too much for the Vietnamese 28-year-old, 11 years older. And the Indian marched to the title gloriously, urging coach Park to join her on the podium for the medal ceremony.

It was apt somehow that Tanvi won her first senior title of this level in Taipei – there are shades of Tai Tzu-ying and Saina Nehwal in her, and the amalgam of those two games can only point to success. The final might well heal her heartbreak from losing the World Junior final, and the long illness effects from dengue – which she played through.

“It was hard playing five matches. I needed to be consistent. I have to work harder to play Super 500 and Super 750s,” she said.

India now has a fourth title winner at S300 level after Saina, Sindhu and Devika Sihag. She even donned a winning yellow.

Tanvi Sharma has arrived. And the timing on the smash and overhead deception is impeccable as ever.