Vũ Thị Trang. — Photo baomoi.com

HÀ NỘI — Top Vietnamese female badminton players Vũ Thị Trang and Nguyễn Thùy Linh won in the first round of the Austria Open on Thursday.

Trang, world No 46, beat Prashi Joshi of India 2-1 (25-23, 11-21, 21-5). While Linh, world No 47, defeated Wen Chi Hsu of Chinese Taipei 2-0 (21-15, 22-20).

Trang will next meet Ting Yu Liang of Chinese Taipei, while Linh will face Amalie Schulz of Denmark.

Meanwhile, Việt Nam’s  No 1 male player Nguyễn Tiến Minh, world No 53, was ousted from the first round by Lee Chia Hao of Chinese Taipei, world No 130.

The event has a total prize fund of US$25,000 and belongs to the international challenge system of the World Badminton Federation. The best athletes will gain points to qualify for the Olympics. — VNS