Vietnam’s top female badminton player, Nguyen Thuy Linh, finished as runner-up at the German Open for the second year in a row after losing to Singapore’s Yeo Jia Min in the final on Sunday.
Yeo, 26, a former world junior number one and the tournament’s top seed, had the upper hand in their previous encounters, winning twice and losing once to Linh. This time, she dominated once again.
Despite strong support from the German crowd, Linh struggled early. Yeo’s powerful and accurate smashes helped her race to a 9-2 lead before taking the first set 21-16.
The second set followed a similar pattern. After an early 3-3 tie, Yeo pulled ahead to 7-3 and later 9-5. Linh fought back to 15-17 but lost momentum due to fatigue and unforced errors. Yeo capitalized, sealing the match 21-16 to claim the title.
Linh earned 5,950 ranking points from the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and a $9,120 prize. She will continue her European tour in France, England, and Spain, aiming to climb higher in the world rankings.
The German Open, a BWF World Tour Super 300 event, has a total prize pool of $240,000. Linh also reached the final in 2024 but fell to a Danish opponent.
Born in 1997, Linh turned professional at 14 and won Vietnam’s national championship for top players four years later. She has been the country’s leading female shuttler since 2018, securing seven consecutive national singles titles and three Vietnam Open titles since 2022. She also competed in the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics.
Related topics:
