Ashmita stuns top seed Hima Akechi, sets up all-Indian semifinal with Rakshitha in Korea

It turned out to be a good day in office for the Indian shuttlers as Ashmita Chaliha and Rakshitha Ramraj ensured that the country will have a finalist in the women’s singles at the Korea Masters 2026 badminton tournament after winning their respective quarterfinals at the Asan Yi Sun-sin Gymnasium on Friday.

Ashmita, who is ranked 50th in the world, produced the biggest upset of the day, knocking out Japanese top seed and world No. 22 Hina Akechi 20-22, 21-15, 21-19 in a hard-fought contest lasting one hour and three minutes.

Meanwhile, world No. 49 Rakshitha came from a game down to beat compatriot and third seed Tanvi Sharma, ranked 30th in the world, 18-21, 21-19, 21-18 in 61 minutes.

The results mean Ashmita and Rakshitha, ranked just one place apart in the world, will face each other in Saturday’s semifinals, guaranteeing India representation in the women’s singles badminton final.

Ashmita had lost her only previous meeting against Akechi at the Malaysia Super 100 last year and initially looked set for another defeat after the Japanese shuttler edged a tight opening game 22-20.

The Indian player responded emphatically in the second, putting together an eight-point run on her way to a 21-15 win to force a decider.

Little separated the two players in the third game before Ashmita held her nerve at the business end. She eventually converted her third match point to complete the upset 21-19.

Rakshitha downs Tanvi

Rakshitha, on the other hand, maintained her perfect record against Tanvi, beating her for the fourth time in as many meetings.

Rakshitha Ramraj kept a clean slate against Tanvi Sharma. Pics: Badminton Photo & X

Tanvi, a part of India’s Asian Games 2026 badminton squad, took the opening game 21-18 after putting together a six-point run, but Rakshitha edged a tight second game 21-19 to force a decider.

The deciding game remained closely contested before Rakshitha pulled away at the finish, converting her third match point to seal it 21-18 and complete the comeback in 61 minutes.

The victory was particularly notable given Tanvi’s recent form. The 17-year-old arrived in Korea after winning the Taipei Open last week for her maiden BWF World Tour title.

It was, however, the end of the road for Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Krishna Prasad Garaga in the men’s doubles as they went down 21-7, 21-8 against Malaysia’s Man Wei Chong and Soh Wooi Yik in their quarterfinals.