Nguyen Thuy Linh won the opening match of Asiad 19

Nguyen Thuy Linh is ranked 28th in the world in women's singles, 402 places higher than Shahzad Mahoor. The gap in skill level was clearly shown on the court when Vietnam's number one female tennis player won after only 23 minutes of competition.

Thuy Linh served in the first game. After conceding two points in a row, she quickly turned the tables. With powerful drives, drops and smashes, Thuy Linh built a streak of 11 consecutive points. The gap grew as the 25-year-old player won two or three points before losing one. When the score was 17-7, Thuy Linh scored four points in a row to end the game in just 10 minutes.

The second set was a little different, although Thuy Linh still had the upper hand. She started impressively by scoring five points in a row and maintaining the gap to 10-5. In the middle of the set, Mahoor rallied to narrow the score to 9-13. However, Thuy Linh broke the Pakistani player's fighting spirit with a six-point streak to lead 19-9. She then successfully converted on the first match-point.

In the round of 16, Thuy Linh will meet the winner of the match between world number 16 usanan Ongbamrungphan (Thailand) and Letshanaa Karupathevan (Malaysia).

Thuy Linh was born in 1997 in Phu Tho, started playing badminton at the age of 10 and is currently the number one badminton player in Vietnam. She won the bronze medal in women's singles at the 31st SEA Games, won 10 major titles in her career, notably Bangladesh International 2018 and 2019, Belgium International 2022 and Vietnam Open 2022, 2023.