Guwahati, August 9: Indian badminton player Ashmita Chaliha secured the title at the BWF Korea Masters Super 300 tournament on Sunday. She achieved this milestone by defeating China’s Han Qianxi in the women’s singles final, marking her first BWF World Tour title.
After losing the first game, Ashmita made a remarkable comeback, overcoming the fourth-seeded Chinese player in 53 minutes with scores of 14-21, 21-14, 21-14. Despite losing a 9-5 lead in the first game, she regained control in the next two games, showcasing improved accuracy and skill to clinch the title.
Ranked 50th in the world, Ashmita’s previous best performance this year was reaching the semifinals of the Macau Open in June, where she lost to South Korea’s Park Ga-yun. In that semifinal, she secured her spot in the final by defeating fellow Indian player Rakshita Ramraj.
The 26-year-old from Guwahati displayed exceptional form throughout the tournament. She defeated Ririna Hiramoto in the first qualifier and then Kim Min-ji in straight games. In the quarterfinals, she triumphed over top seed Hina Akechi with scores of 20-22, 21-15, 21-19. With this victory, Ashmita becomes the third Indian player to win a Super 300 title this year, following Devika Sihag and Tanvi Sharma. Overall, she is the fourth Indian woman to secure a singles BWF title this year, joining Tanvi, who won the Taipei Open, PV Sindhu, who claimed the Japan Open, and Devika Sihag, who won the Thailand Masters.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are other Indian players who have won BWF titles this year, having claimed the men’s doubles title at the Singapore Badminton Open in May. With this win, Ashmita is set to enter the top 40 in the rankings for the first time. After a three-month injury layoff, her performance on the BWF Tour has been impressive, reaching the quarterfinals in her first two tournaments back – the China Masters and Malaysia Masters.
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