Vietnamese badminton player exits India Open early after losing to Thai opponent

The India Open features many top players like Victor Axelsen, Kodai Naraoka, An Se-young and Tai Tzu Ying. This is Linh’s first tournament in 2024 and her goal is to perform well to improve her place on world ranking, for the ultimate goal which is Olympic qualification.

In the first round, Linh faced Chochuwong, Thailand’s number two tennis player and is currently ranked 42nd in the world. Linh is 22nd in the world and 15th on the Olympic qualification ranking of Badminton World Federation.

Linh and Chochuwong trained together before so they understood each other well.

Both were very cautious in the first set. When the score was 9-9, Linh scored four consecutive points to lead 13-9. But Chochuwong responded by also scoring four to equalize. From here, the Thai player maintained a two-point lead with Linh and eventually won 21-19.

In the second set, Linh changed her strategy, using fast and powerful hits. She led by two points, but then Chochuwong came back to lead 3-2. The 25-year-old Thai player often made accurate calls with her drop shots, forcing Linh to move constantly and lose her stamina. Chochuwong then scored six consecutive points to lead 11-4 then 14-7. From that moment, the match was in her hands while Linh was impatient and often missed. Chochuwong easily ended the set 21-12 and won 2-0 overall.

After exiting India Open, Linh will return to Southeast Asia to attend the Indonesia Masters Super 500 tournament starting on Jan. 23. The 26-year-old player will spend March competing in Europe, participating in tournaments in Germany, France, England, Spain, Switzerland. Linh hopes to accumulate many points at these tournaments to improve her performance as well as her ranking and become a seed in the Olympics.