Taipei: Indian shuttlers Unnati Hooda and Tanvi Sharma advanced to the women’s singles semifinals of the Taipei Open 2026 on Friday, keeping alive the prospect of an all-Indian final at the BWF Super 300 tournament.
Unnati put up a calm performance in the all-Indian quarter-final, winning against eighth-seeded Devika Sihag 23-21, 21-16 in 42 minutes at the Taipei Arena. This win represented a major achievement for the 28th-ranked Indian player, who has now reached her first BWF World Tour semi-final of the 2026 season after not advancing past the first round in any of her previous World Tour events this year.
Tanvi Sharma, who was ranked world No. 34, joined her in the last four after recovering from losing the second game to beat the fourth seed Supanida Katethong from Thailand 21-15, 18-21, 21-14 in a closely contested match that lasted 54 minutes.
This result saw Tanvi reach her second BWF Super 300 semi-final of the season, since she had previously made it to the last four at the Orleans Masters, which shows that she has been consistent on the World Tour this year.
Since the two Indian players are in opposite halves of the draw, there is still a chance of an all-Indian final. Unnati will play sixth seed Nguyen Thuy Linh from Vietnam in the semi-finals, while Tanvi will have to meet a tough opponent in the form of fifth seed and home favourite Huang Yu-Hsun.
Huang secured her spot in the semi-finals by beating her fellow countryman and second seed Lin Hsiang-ti, who had previously eliminated the Indian players Ashmita Chaliha and Anmol Kharb. Nguyen also reached the semi-finals having defeated the top seed Chiu Pin-Chian in the quarter-finals.
Unnati and Tanvi are also included in India’s team for the 2026 Asian Games, and the way they perform in Taipei will give them a well-timed boost in confidence before the continental event.
India’s campaign in the men’s events ended when Kiran George was defeated by the fourth-seeded Japanese player Yudai Okimoto in the quarter-finals, the score being 21-12, 21-10. HS Prannoy had already been eliminated in the Round of 16, so Kiran was India’s last remaining men’s singles player.
The India doubles campaign had come to an end earlier that week when Bhargav Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gobburu were eliminated in the first round of the men’s doubles event.
(IANS)
