4 min readMar 22, 2026 10:02 PM IST
For former world No 1 Nozomi Okuhara, the last few years haven’t been easy. Having to deal with multiple injuries and loss of form, her ranking dipped to No 63 in the world in the middle of 2025. But on Sunday, at the end of a fine week at the Orleans Masters Super 300, she stood at the top of the podium with a beaming smile and a long-awaited trophy. The last time she had won a Super 300 title – the fourth rung on the BWF World Tour – was in India at the backend of 2023 at Syed Modi International in Lucknow. She has had to slug it out on the tour, having to contest in a variety of Super 100 events to try and earn some points to build her ranking up. And this must have felt like vindication for her hard work during tough times.
Even more impressively, Okuhara won the Orleans Masters title after beating two teenagers over the weekend. And both in straight games. Badminton, especially women’s singles, is often partial towards younger legs. But Okuhara turned back the clock to get the better of 17-year-old Tanvi Sharma with consummate ease, 21-9 21-16 in just 35 minutes, handing out a lesson or two to the Indian rising star in the process of a masterclass. She had to work harder on Sunday, but was still able to see off the challenge from 19-year-old Thai sensation Pitchamon ‘Pink’ Opatniputh, winning 21-15, 21-15 in 47 minutes.
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Let’s show 30 isn’t slowing us down💪 https://t.co/BM97MkPPxA— Okuhara Nozomi 奥原 希望 バドミントン選手 (@nozomi_o11) March 22, 2026
Okuhara, now 31, is a part of the women’s singles golden generation over the past decade and more, having tasted success early in their careers alongside the likes of PV Sindhu and Ratchanok Intanon, both of whom are on the other side of 30 now. Reacting to a post about how they continue to grind it out on the tour against much younger stars, Sindhu posted on X – tagging her two mates – on Sunday: “We’re just trying to keep up with the young girls and enjoy every match along the way! These girls seem to return absolutely everything we throw at them. Though I must admit recovery takes a tad bit longer now haha, and those ice baths seem to last forever!”
Joining in on the banter, Okuhara wrote: “Let’s show 30 isn’t slowing us down,” with a bicep flex. And Intanon added: “You making me laugh girl. We are still here for our dreams and still loving to play, only age catching our body just just a little. Need more time for everything to heal well.” And added her congratulations to Okuhara.
“It’s really good that when you talk about playing a decade ago with the same set of players, and we are still competing,” PV Sindhu – an integral part of that era – had told this daily in January this year, when asked about her Intanon’s success in 2025 when she qualified for the BWF World Tour Finals as one of the top eight shuttlers in the calendar year. “It definitely motivates you. ‘They are playing well, why not me?’ It’s good to have friends and competitors on the same circuit.”
And asked what it takes for a group of 30-plus women to push the younger crop, Intanon quipped during India Open: “We have to show the young players that we are still here, and we don’t want you to win against us easily.”
Women’s singles might be increasingly tough on the bodies of these legends, but they continue to grind it out with the young brigade, and Okuhara’s title in Orleans is another sign that they do not go gentle into that good night
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