Kim Ga Eun and Sim Yu Jin knocked out seeds Ratchanok Intanon and Han Yue respectively in the opening round of the BANK OF NINGBO Badminton Asia Championships 2026.
While Sim took down fifth seed Han in a come-from-behind effort at 16-21 21-10 21-15, Kim had a more comfortable 21-16 21-18 result over 2015 champion and seventh seed Intanon.
The two Koreans joined their compatriot and top seed An Se Young, who is looking for the only major title to elude her.
The Olympic champion brushed aside Yeo Jia Min 21-15 21-10.
China had a setback in men’s singles too, with fifth seed Li Shi Feng falling to Ayush Shetty 21-13 21-16. Shetty’s compatriot H.S. Prannoy also progressed to the second round, beating qualifier Nguyen Hai Dang in straight games.
India had a mixed day in men’s singles, with All England runner-up Lakshya Sen outplayed by Lee Cheuk Yiu and Kidambi Srikanth falling to Loh Kean Yew in three games. However, there was good news for the Indians late in the day, when Unnati Hooda beat world No.11 and recent Swiss Open champion Supanida Katethong for the biggest win of her young career.
→ Results
A crestfallen Li after his loss to Shetty.
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