She won 2-0 on Saturday over Hooda, the tournament’s No. 3 seed, in a 41-minute match.
Considered one of Indian badminton’s brightest prodigies, Hooda earned a place on the national team for the Uber Cup at just 15 years old. She has won three BWF Super 100 titles and reached a career-high world ranking of No. 19 in May 2026.
Although Linh had never previously faced Hooda, she was well aware of her opponent’s playing style.
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Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Linh prepares to serve against India’s Unnati Hooda in the semi-final at the 2026 Taiwan Open. Screenshot from livestream |
The sixth seed fell behind early before taking control with deep clears followed by delicate net shots. She executed the tactic effectively to wear Hooda down, opening an 11-6 lead midway through the first game.
After the mid-game interval, Linh extended her advantage with an impressive scoring run to lead 14-7 and later 16-8.
Although Hooda briefly fought back to narrow the gap, the Vietnamese shuttler remained composed, producing difficult winners to seal the opening game 21-15.
Hooda came out aggressively in the second game, relying on powerful smashes to build leads of 5-1 and 8-4.
However, Linh demonstrated her composure and tactical awareness by repeatedly targeting her opponent’s backhand, forcing Hooda into awkward recovery shots that created scoring opportunities. She closed the gap to 7-8 before trailing narrowly at 11-10 by the interval.
Hooda regained momentum after the break, stretching her lead to 16-11. Just as the match appeared to be slipping away, Thuy Linh produced one of the finest stretches of badminton of her career, combining deep clears with precise net play to score point after point.
From five points down, the player from Phu Tho Province reduced the deficit to 17-16 before leveling the score at 18-18. She then won the last three points in succession to claim a 21-18 victory and book her place in the final, which is scheduled at 11 a.m. Sunday.
Linh is Vietnam’s top-ranked women’s singles player and has won the national individual championships seven consecutive times.
She is also a three-time consecutive Vietnam Open champion from 2022 and has represented Vietnam at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics.
On the BWF World Tour Super 300 circuit, she has finished runner-up four times, at the 2024 and 2025 German Open, the 2025 Canada Open, and the 2025 Korea Masters.
The Taiwan Open is part of the BWF World Tour Super 300 circuit and is being held at Taipei Arena from July 28 to Aug. 2, offering a total prize purse of US$250,000.
Besides Linh, Vietnam was represented by Vu Thi Trang and the men’s doubles pair Nguyen Dinh Hoang/Tran Dinh Manh, who both exited the tournament in the qualifying rounds.
Following the Taiwan Open, Linh will compete at the Korea Masters Super 300 before heading to the BWF World Championships in India, scheduled for Aug. 17-23.
She will then return to Vietnam to prepare for the 20th Asian Games (ASIAD 20), which will be held in Japan in September.