Asan City, August 9, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Ashmita Chaliha produced the biggest breakthrough of her career as she defeated China’s fourth-seeded Han Qian Xi 14-21, 21-14, 21-14 in 53 minutes to win the Korea Masters women’s singles title on Sunday.
The victory gave the 26-year-old Indian her maiden BWF World Tour crown and is set to propel her into the world’s top 40 for the first time.
“I feel really great; it’s unbelievable. I’m still trying to digest it,” Ashmita said in a video shared by Olympics.com after completing a comeback victory in the final.
Ranked 50th in the world before the tournament, Ashmita made a difficult start to the title clash. She led 9-5 in the opening game but struggled to deal with the conditions and eventually conceded it 14-21.
The Indian adapted brilliantly after changing ends, finding greater control and consistency to level the contest before taking charge of the decider.
“First set was a little bit tricky because of the drift conditions, so I wasn’t able to manage it. But then the second set, the other side is more comfortable, and it’s a little bit less drift. So I was able to control it,” she explained.
She added that the change of ends after 11 points in the third game again worked in her favour.
The triumph made Ashmita the first Indian to win the Korea Masters and capped an impressive comeback season following a three-month injury layoff that ended in May.
Her path to the title included victories over qualifier Ririna Hiramoto and Kim Min Ji before she produced a major upset against top seed Hina Akechi in the quarterfinals, winning 20-22, 21-15, 21-19. She then defeated compatriot Rakshita Sree Santhosh Ramraj to reach her maiden BWF World Tour final.
Ashmita had already shown encouraging form since returning to competition, reaching the quarterfinals of the China Masters and Malaysia Masters before advancing to the semifinals of the Macau Open in June.
The Korea Masters title represents another major step in her career, but Ashmita is already looking beyond her latest achievement.
“I didn’t know this. I feel blessed; thank you to everyone back home for supporting me. I’m hungry for more!” she said.
She also credited coach Park Tae-Sang for helping her maintain her energy and confidence throughout the tournament.
“All the credit goes to coach Park. Without him, I wouldn’t have been this much energetic,” Ashmita said.
Her triumph adds to India’s success on the BWF World Tour this season, with Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty having won the men’s doubles title at the Singapore Badminton Open in May.
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