Top Vietnamese badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh.

The tournament will be held in Wuhan, China, from April 23 to 28, featuring five categories: men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles. The men’s singles event brings together 40 competitors, with 28 directly eligible for the main draw, while the 12 others are divided into four groups to compete for the remaining four main-draw berths.

Nguyen Tien Minh is the only Vietnamese representative in the men’s singles division. As the world No. 67, the 36-year-old player is directly moved through to the first round where he will meet the winner of Group D, consisting of Jaspar Woon Chai Yu (world No. 396), Savatyugin (world No. 334) and Pang Fong Pui (world No. 346).

Minh is expected to face tough challenges en route to the final, including possible meetings with world No. 7 and fifth seed Kidambi Srikanth (India, second round), world No. 1 and top seed Kento Momota (quarterfinals), and world No. 5 and fourth seed Chen Long (semifinals).

Regarding the women’s singles category, Vietnam’s world No. 59 Nguyen Thuy Linh will start her campaign from the first round. Meanwhile, another Vietnamese representative, Vu Thi Trang (world No. 63), must vie for a main-draw slot against lower-rated opponents, world No. 294 Weng Chi NG from Macau (China) and world No. 235 Yun Yann Jaslyn Hooi from Indonesia.

In the mixed doubles event, Vietnam’s world No. 46 pair Do Tuan Duc and Pham Nhu Thao will play world No. 18 duo Rivaldy and Mentari in the first round.

Nhan Dan