Nguyen Thuy Linh meets No. 1 seed in the final of the Korea Masters 2025 badminton tournament

Dong Nai badminton player Nguyen Thuy Linh defeated Japanese badminton player Hina Akechi in the semifinals, winning a ticket to the final of the women's singles event of the Korea Masters 2025 badminton tournament, meeting the number 1 seed.

Defeating Japanese player Hina in the semifinals, Nguyen Thuy Linh advances to the final for the fourth time in 2025. Photo courtesy of BWF

On the morning of November 8, Vietnam's No. 1 badminton player Nguyen Thuy Linh (ranked 24th in the world, seeded No. 2) faced off against former world No. 1 junior Hina Akechi (ranked 57th in the world) in the women's singles semifinals of the Korea Masters 2025 badminton tournament.

In this match, Nguyen Thuy Linh showed her mettle, defeating her Japanese opponent 2-0.

Thuy Linh entered the match with confidence and maintained firm control in the first set with a series of tricky shuttle placements. As a result, the Dong Nai player steadily built a lead and went on to win the set 21–11.

In the second set, Hina Akechi improved her performance, creating a closely contested battle with Nguyen Thuy Linh. After the Japanese player leveled the score at 14–14, the Vietnamese shuttler accelerated sharply, scoring decisive points to win 21–17 and sealing a 2–0 victory after 41 minutes of play.

By defeating Hina Akechi, Nguyen Thuy Linh advanced to the final of the women's singles event at the Korea Masters 2025 badminton tournament, where she will face top seed Chiu Pin-chian (Chinese Taipei, world No. 20). This marks Nguyen Thuy Linh’s fourth final on the BWF World Tour in 2025, following her appearances at the German Open, Canada Open, and Vietnam Open.

The women's singles final of the Korea Masters 2025 badminton tournament is scheduled for the afternoon of November 9.

By Anh Tam – Translated by Quoc Dung, Minho