Published: August 9, 2026 at 4:30 pm
Ashmita Chaliha became the first Indian badminton player to win the Korea Masters, a BWF Super 300 tournament. She rallied from a game down to beat the People’s Republic of China’s Han Qianxi in the women’s singles final on Sunday.
The 26-year-old Ashmita won 14-21, 21-14, 21-14 against the fourth-seeded Chinese shuttler. The victory marked Ashmita Chaliha’s maiden BWF World Tour title and came on her first appearance in a final. The Indian badminton player had also reached the semifinals of the Macau Open in June.
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She joins an elite group of Indian women’s singles players to have won BWF Super 300 or higher-level badminton titles, alongside Olympic medallists Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu, as well as Devika Sihag and Tanvi Sharma.
Ashmita Chaliha, who trains at the National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati, is now the fourth Indian woman to win a singles BWF World Tour title this year, following PV Sindhu at the Japan Open, Devika Sihag at the Thailand Masters and Tanvi Sharma at the Taipei Open.
Ashmita Chaliha joins an elite group of Indian women’s singles players to have won BWF Super 300 or higher-level badminton titles, alongside Olympic medallists Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu, as well as Devika Sihag and Tanvi Sharma. Pics: Badminton Photo
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are the other Indian winners on the BWF World Tour this year, having claimed the men’s doubles title at the Singapore Badminton Open in May.
“I feel really great and unbelievable. But then I am trying to digest it. Now, I am hungry for more,” Chaliha said after winning the title.
Ashmita stuns top seed Hima Akechi, sets up all-Indian semifinal with Rakshitha in Korea
India have now won back-to-back women’s singles titles on the BWF World Tour after Tanvi Sharma’s Taipei Open triumph last week.
Ashmita Chaliha had already produced a major upset in the Korea Masters quarterfinals, knocking out top seed Hina Akechi of Japan.
She started the final strongly, opening up a 9-5 lead against Han Qianxi. However, a run of five consecutive points from the Chinese shuttler turned the game around as Ashmita Chaliha eventually dropped the opener.
Ashmita Chaliha then made amends in the next two games by capitalising on her leads at the intervals to wrap up the final in 53 minutes.
“In the first game, it was a little bit tricky because of the drift condition. So, I was not able to manage it. But in the second, the other side was more comfortable and there was less drift. So, I was able to control it. And in the third, after 11 points, I changed again. So, I was on the good side. So, I’m glad that I could pull off,” Ashmita said.
Earlier, she had also defeated compatriot Rakshitha Ramraj in an all-Indian semifinal.
