Badminton

Nguyễn Thùy Linh is the highest seed of Việt Nam at the Vietnam Open 2026 badminton tournament/ Photo vtv.vn

HÀ NỘI — Nguyễn Thùy Linh has been placed second seed in the Vietnam Open 2026 badminton tournament as she fights to regain her title.

India's Tanvi Sharma, who has a world ranking of 26, two ahead of Linh, is favourite for the tournament, which takes place in HCM City from September 8 at the Nguyễn Du Gymnasium.

Linh, who won titles in 2022, 2023 and 2024, will face Xu Wen Jing of China in the women's singles first round.

Although she reached the final in 2025, an unexpected loss has made her more determined to win back the title.

She will also use The Open as crucial preparation for the upcoming Asian Games in Japan. 

In the same category, Vũ Thị Trang will face fourth seed Amalie Schulz of Denmark.

In the men's singles, Lê Đức Phát will face Muthusamy Subramanian of India while Nguyễn Hải Đăng will play Cheam June Wei of Malaysia.

Hà Nội International Challenge champions Nguyễn Đình Hoàng and Trần Đình Mạnh will face No 2 pair Zhi-Wei He and Huang Jui-Hsuan of Chinese Teipei.

There are four Việt Nam doubles teams in the both women's doubles and mixed doubles events.

Among them, third seeded pair Phạm Thị Diệu Ly and Phạm Thị Khanh will play Chen Su Yu and Chen Han in the women's doubles' first match.

Trang, who took part in the London Olympics in 2012, will pair with younger player Bùi Bích Phương against Malaysia's Cheng Su Hui and Chong Jie Yu.

As a BWF World Tour Super 100 event, a total of US$120,000 will be shared among the winners. — VNS