As it happened - Badminton Korea Open 2022, day two: An Seyoung, Jonatan Christie, PV Sindhu storm into second round

Home hero Son Wan Ho, making his return after two years, also won his first round match at the Super 500 event in Suncheon. Get results.

16 minBy Olympics.com
Badminton An Seyoung
(2021 Getty Images)

End of play...

After men's top seed Anthony Ginting's shock exit on the opening day, Day 2 of the Korea Open 2022 badminton played out as expected for most parts.

An Seyoung, the women's singles second seed, brushed aside the challenge from India's Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli to march into the second round. Third seed PV Sindhu, too, was impressive in her victory against USA's Lauren Lam and will look to carry forward the momentum against Japan's Aya Ohori in the second round on Thursday.

Seventh seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan also advanced without much resistance in her first match.

The big upset of the day came in form of women's singles eighth seed Michelle Li's exit at the hands of Saena Kawakami. A well-deserved victory for the Japanese shuttler whose relentless running on the court reflected on the scoreboard.

In men's singles, fifth seed Kidambi Srikanth recovered from an early wobble to beat Malaysia's Daren Liew to reserve his berth in the round of 16. Third seed Jonatan Christie and eight-seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn also secured their respective passages to the next round without much trouble.

Former world No. 1 Son Wan Ho, returning to the badminton court after two long years and that too at his home turf, took three games to down Jason Teh Jia Heng of Singapore but eventually squeezed through.

Indonesia's Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan and India's Chirag Shetty/Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, the second and third seeds in men's doubles, also successfully saw off Korean challenges in their respective first round matches to advance.

An Seyoung through to round 2

A much better display from the young Indian in game 2, but her opponent on the day was a bit too good for Kudaravalli to handle.

The South Korean crosses her first hurdle in just 27 minutes and will face Singapore's Yeo Jia Min, ranked 16th in the world, in round 2.

Score: An Seyoung 21-5, 21-13 Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty through to round 2

A similar second game but the same result!

The Koreans managed to stay in Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty's cat-tails in the initial exchanges but couldn't really see it through to force a decider. Simple and effective doubles play from the Indians.

Score: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 21-16, 21-15 Tae Yang Shin/Wang Chan

An Seyoung on a rampage

An Seyoung has been in great form this year, first reaching the semi-finals at the German Open and then making it to the All England final.

The Korean ace's class and form has proved too much for the 24-year-old Kudaravalli. Bit of a mismatch here.

Can the India put up a tougher front in game 2?

Score: An Seyoung 21-5 Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty take the lead

After a close start, India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty have broken away in style to take the first game 21-16. The Indian duo's clever switching of positions have kept Tae Yang Shin and Wang Chan guessing.

Score: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 21-16 Tae Yang Shin/Wang Chan

An Seyoung on a rampage

World No. 4 home favourite An Seyoung has taken the court for her first women's match of the Korea Open against India's Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli and seems to be in a hurry to make it to the second round.

The second-seeded South Korean has been in devastating touch and has raced to a 13-1 lead against the world No. 119 Indian.

Score: An Seyoung 13-1 Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty face Korean test in men's doubles

The Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty, third seeds, are up against the home team of Tae Yang Shin and Wang Chan in their first round fixture.

It's evenly poised with the Indian pair, world No. 7, edging ahead by a point at the first interval.

Score: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 11-10 Tae Yang Shin/Wang Chan

Other results

Misha Zilberman/Svetlana Zilberman (Israel) 9-21, 10-21 Hiroki Midorikawa/Natsu Saito (Japan) - mixed doubles

Kang Minhyuk/Seo Seungjae (South Korea) 21-14, 25-23 Jang Sung Ho/Dong Ju Ki (South Korea) - men's doubles

Jan Louda (Czech Republic) 21-15, 21-19 Lee Dong Keun (South Korea) - men's singles

Sim Yujin (South Korea) -10-21, 13-21 Yeo Jia Min (Singapore) - women's singles

Hee Yong Kai Terry/ Loh Kean Hean (Singapore) 21-15, 21-13 Koceila Mammeri/ Youcef Sabri Medel (Algeria) – men’s doubles

Michelle Li ousted

That settles it!

Michelle Li, the women's singles eighth seed, is out of the Korea Open 2022. Full credits to Kawakami for an excellent and gritty third game where she made Li play to her pace.

A long rally followed by a delicate cross court drop shot to cap of the win for Kawakami, who drops to the ground the instant Li hits the net with her return.

Score: Michelle Li 12-21, 21-15, 13-21 Saena Kawakami

Saena Kawakami fights back

The 24-year-old Japanese made it very clear from the first shot of game 3 that she isn't going away without a fight and what a fight it has been!

Saena Kawakami has been chasing down everything Li has been throwing at her and the tenacity clearly has the Canadian flustered. Some good points won and a few unforced errors by her opponent has Kawakami on the threshold of an upset victory.

If she wins, it won't be Kawakami's first time upstaging Li. The Japanese beat the Canadian in their very first meeting at the US Open 2016. Incidentally Li was seeded second at that event while Kawakami was unseeded.

Score: Michelle Li 12-21, 21-15, 3-11 Saena Kawakami

Huge response from Michelle Li to draw level

Trailing 6-4 in the second game, the Canadian eighth seed seemed to be in trouble but Michelle Li dug herself out of the predicament with nine back-to-back points and proceeded to win the game.

Li's ploy to send Kawakami long before attacking the net has contributed a lot to her comeback. All level and everything to play for in game 3.

Score: Michelle Li 12-21, 21-15 Saena Kawakami

Kunlavut Vitidsarn through

Not much of a resistance from Watanabe in the second game as Kunlavut Vitidsarn cruises through to the second round with an easy win by straight games. The Japanese player never quite got into rhythm after being rattled early by Vitidsarn's aggressive start to the match.

Score: Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-12, 21-10 Koki Watanabe

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First upset of the day on the cards?

The first game scoreline also ends 21-12 in the women's singles match between Michelle Li and Saena Kawakami but it's not the seeded player who's in the lead.

A solid serve and rally sequence from the world No. 45 Saena Kawakami sees her take the first game. We've had all the seeds progress on Day 2 till now. Can the 24-year-old Japanese stop the trend?

Score: Michelle Li 12-21 Saena Kawakami

Good start from Kunlavut Vitidsarn

The world No. 18 Thai shuttler seems to be in a hurry here. Some trademark fast paced.-paced Vitidsarn rallies on show in the first game and it wraps up in quick time.

Score: Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-12 Koki Watanabe

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Eighth seeds Kunlavut Vitidsarn and Michelle Li on court

Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the men's singles eight seed, and Canada's Michelle Li, seeded eighth in women's singles, are both in action in their respective first round matches.

While Vitidsarn, who won the German Open last month, faces off against Japanese world No. 44 Koki Watanabe, Michelle Li's first opponent at Korea is another Japanese shuttler, Saena Kawakami.

Result updates from other matches

Yaelle Hoyaux (France) 21-17, 21-10 Katerina Tomalova (Czech Republic) - women's singles

Supanida Katethong (Thailand) 21-17, 16-21, 19-21 Wang Zhiyi (China) - women's singles

Ondřej Kral/Adam Mendrek (Czech Republic) 19-21, 15-21 Tae Kwan Kim/Sang Min Lee (South Korea) - men's doubles

B Sumeeth Reddy/ Ashwini Ponnappa (India) 21-19, 21-18 Jun Liang Andy Kwek/Yujia Jin (Singapore) - mixed doubles

Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan make round 2 in men's doubles

Expected result in the men's doubles encounter on Court 1 as second seeds Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan wrap up their match against South Koreans Chan and Jin Choo in straight games.

The Indonesians will be up against the unseeded Indian duo of M.R. Arjun and Dhruv Kapila in Round 2.

Score: Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan 21-16, 21-15 Chan Choo/Jin Choo

Jonatan Cristie, Kidambi Srikanth through to Round 2

Both seeded players have made it through with straight game wins.

In stark contrast to his first game, Kidambi Srikanth had little trouble dispatching Daren Liew in the second. The Indian shuttler will face Israel's Misha Zilberman next.

Score: Kidambi Srikanth 22-20, 21-11 Daren Liew; Jonatan Christie 21-13, 21-18 Soong Joo Ven

Jonatan Christie takes the lead against Soong Joo Ven

Over at Court 2, men's singles third seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia has made a solid start to go a game up against Soong Joo Ven of Malaysia, the world No. 65.

Fresh off his Swiss Open triumph last month, the world No. 8 looks in form and will be one of the favourites for the men's singles titlle at the Korea Open 2022, more so after countryman and top seed Anthony Ginting's early exit yesterday.

Score: Jonatan Christie 21-13 Soong Joo Ven

(Getty Images)

Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan in action

Men's doubles second seeds Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia, meanwhile, seem comfortably placed in their first round encounter against South Koreans Chan and Jin Choo.

Having taken game 1 comfortably at 21-16, the three-time world champions are having to work a little harder in game 2 but are leading.

Score: Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan 21-16, 14-11 Chan Choo/Jin Choo

Kidambi Srikanth edges out tough first game

One player who'll be eager to give Christie a fight for the title will be former world No. 1 and worlds silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth of India.

The world No. 12, however, has had his hands full against another Malaysian shuttler, Daren Liew. Once trailing 15-18, Srikanth did manage to mount a comeback and win the first game 22-20. Some intelligent drops at the net and well-placed smashes down the line did the trick for Srikanth.

Score: Kidambi Srikanth 22-20 Daren Liew

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Jonatan Christie takes the lead against Soong Joo Ven

Over at Court 2, men's singles third seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia has made a solid start to go a game up against Soong Joo Ven of Malaysia, the world No. 65.

Fresh off his Swiss Open triumph last month, the world No. 8 looks in form and will be one of the favourites for the men's singles titlle at the Korea Open 2022, more so after countryman and top seed Anthony Ginting's early exit yesterday.

Score: Jonatan Christie 21-13 Soong Joo Ven

PV Sindhu breaks away

Not the way it seemed it will end after the initial promise by Lam!

With the game balanced on a knife's edge at 15-14, PV Sindhu shits a gear and takes six points on the trot to mark a sudden end to the affair. The Indian is off to round 2, where she'll meet Japan's Aya Ohori.

Score: PV Sindhu 21-15, 21-14 Lauren Lam

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Lauren Lam pushing PV Sindhu in game two

A valiant performance by the American in game 2. No easy points on offer for PV Sindhu here and the Indian ace has to work hard for every inch. We've got a contest here!.

Score: PV Sindhu 21-15, 11-10 Lauren Lam

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Son Wan Ho makes a winning return

It may have taken three games, but home-favourite Son Wan Ho signs off with a win to set up a second-round clash against Kantaphon Wangcharoen. The Korean will be glad to put a win under his belt after a long two years away from badminton.

Props to Jason Teh Jia Heng for a spirited fight to push the former world No. 1 hard.

Score: Son Wan Ho 21-19, 14-21, 21-13 Jason Teh Jia Heng

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PV Sindhu recovers from a slight wobble to take first game

PV Sindhu had a slight wobble after the restart, allowing Lam to cut the deficit down to 16-13 but a great recovery from the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist as she finishes strongly to go a game up.

Lam has to try something new in game 2 to upset the Indian's rhythm.

Score: PV Sindhu 21-15 Lauren Lam

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(2021 Getty Images)

Busanan Ongbamrungphan storms into round 2

Seventh seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan, meanwhile, has put up a solid showing against South Korea's Kim Hyo Min .

The Thai has been dictating the pace of the match with her variation of drops and smashes and is dominating the net. A comfortable first game win for the Thai followed by an even more impressive performance in game 2.

Score: Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-18, 21-5 Kim Hyo Min

PV Sindhu with a solid start

A no-frills start by third seed PV Sindhu as she races to a 11-6 lead heading into the first break of the match.

The Indian world No. 7, who won the Korea Open in 2017, has already beaten Lauren Lam, world No. 70, once this year at the Syed Modi International.

Score: PV Sindhu 11-6 Lauren Lam

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Son Wan Ho - Jason Teh Jia Heng heads to a decider

Son Wan Ho will need to work for a winning return with Jason Teh Jia Heng coming up trups in game two. Evenly poised this one!

Score: Son Wan Ho 21-19, 14-21 Jason Teh Jia Heng 

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PV Sindhu up next.....

On Court 3, Japan's Aya Ohori has beaten Hungary's Daniella Gonda 21-18, 21-9 in just under half an hour, clearing up the court for two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu's first round clash against USA's Lauren Lam.

Both matches on Court 3 today have lasted under 30 minutes.

Son Wan Ho in trouble in Game 2

Jason Teh Jia Heng has continued with the late momentum he caught onto in the latter stages of Game 1 and the change of sides seems to have aided his cause.

The Singaporean shuttler's back court smashes and retrievals have pushed Son Wan Ho on the backfoot, Teh leads 17-11 and a third game looks like a strong probability here.

Score: Son Wan Ho 21-19, 11-17 Jason Teh Jia Heng 

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Busanan Ongbamrungphan on court

World No. 11 Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand, seeded seventh in women's singles at the Korea Open, meanwhile, is on court for her first round clash against South Korea's Kim Hyo Min, the world No. 58.

The last time the two shuttlers met was at the 2012 junior world championships with the Thai triumphing in straight games.

Misha Zilberman downs Li Shi Feng to progress

The men's singles affair over at Court 2, meanwhile, has been settled.

Israel's world No. 50 Misha Zilberman takes home a fairly comfortable win over Li Shi Feng, a former Youth Olympics champion from China.

Final result: Misha Zilberman 21-17, 21-16 Li Shi Feng

The dust has settled in the all-Korean duel over at Court 4 as well with Dong Ju Ki/ Kim Hyerin beating compatriots Wang Chan/Jung Kyung Eun 21-18-21-15.

Nifty fightback from Jason but Son Wan Ho goes a game up

The tide of the match seemed to have turned momentarily as Jason Teh Jia Heng seemed to have found his range at the back court, producing some eye-catching finishers.

The Singaporean shuttler rapidly brought down Son Wan Ho's lead and levelled the affair up at 19-19 but Wan Ho showed his experience right at the end to wrap the first game up at 21-19. A well-placed drop shot followed by a body smash earned the win for the South Korean ace,

Score: Son Wan Ho 21-19 Jason Teh Jia Heng 

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Son Wan Ho looks in firm control

First competitive match since March 2020, but there's little evidence to suggest that Son Wan Ho might be rusty.

The South Korean is moving well on the court and his touch seems to be on point. Some lovely placed finishers on show here from the home favourite as he takes a 14-8 lead in the first game.

Score: Son Wan Ho 14-8 Jason Teh Jia Heng 

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Kantaphon Wangcharoen takes the victory against Youcef Sabri Medel

Thai shuttler Kantaphon Wangcharoen, meanwhile, has cruised to a 21-6, 21- victory over Algeria's Youcef Sabri Medel.

The world No. 56 Thai throughly dominated Medel, placed 72 places behind him, to wrap up the match in just 21 minutes.

Wangcharoen's variation and superior court coverage proved too much for the Algerian. The Thai will meet the winner of the Son Wan Ho vs Jason Teh Jia Heng match in round 2.

Son Wan Ho's much-anticipated return next

With the men's doubles match walkover on Court 1 ending in a walkover, the much-anticipated return of home favourite Son Wan Ho will be sooner than expected.

A former world No. 1 and worlds bronze medallist, Son Wan Ho, the current world No. 78, was last seen in action at the All England Open 2020. He lost to Anders Antonsen 22-20, 21-13 in the Round of 32.

Playing for the first time in almost two years, Son Wan Ho's first test will be against Singapore's Jason Teh Jia Heng, the world No. 94. The two players have never met before.

Match Update: M.R. Arjun/Dhruv Kapila gets an walkover

Indian men's doubles pair M.R. Arjun/Dhruv Kapila has received a walkover in the first round of the men's doubles event after South Korea's Ba Da Kim/ Hee Young Park pulled out.

The Indian duo may come up against Indonesian second seeds Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan, former world champions in round 2.

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Welcome to Olympics.com's live coverage of Day 2 of Korea Open 2022 badminton.

We start the day with four concurrent matches.

  • Court 1 - Ba Da Kim/ Hee Young Park (South Korea) vs M.R. Arjun/Dhruv Kapila (India) - men's doubles
  • Court 2- Misha Zilberman (Israel) vs Li Shi Feng (China) - men's singles
  • Court 3 - Youcef Sabri Medel (Algeria) vs Kantaphon Wangcharoen (Thailand) - men's singles
  • Court 4 - Wang Chan/Jung Kyung Eun (South Korea) vs Dong Ju Ki/ Kim Hyerin (South Korea)

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The second day of action at badminton's Korea Open 2022 will see some big names take to the court on Wednesday (6 April).

The Super 500 event on the BWF World Tour calendar has home favourite An Seyoung as the second seed of the tournament. She will face India's Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli. An will be plotting to snatch her first win over top seed Chen Yu Fei if both of them can make the finals.

Meanwhile, we welcome the return of former men's singles world No.1, Son Wan Ho who is playing in his first competition since the global pandemic. The South Korean will begin his comeback campaign against Singapore's Jason Teh Jia Heng.

Tournament fifth seed, Kidambi Srikanth, will also be looking for a strong result when he plays Malaysia's Liew Darren for a chance to progress to the second round.

While the seedings might give us an indication of the better ranked player, it's by no mean a concrete form guide as Anthony Ginting sorely discovered when he was eliminated by lower ranked Lucas Claerbout from France. You can read our recap from the opening day here to get up to speed ahead of today's action.

Follow all the action from the second day of the Korea Open 2022 with our live updates. Be sure to refresh the page for the latest posts.

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