Pham Cao Cuong advanced to the second round of the Badminton Asia Championships in Taipei yesterday.

Cuong beat Malaysian Wei Sheng Loh 13-21, 25-23, 21-19 in nearly one hour in the men's singles event.

He will meet tournament No 11 Wing Ki Wong, of Hong Kong, next. Wong yesterday had an easy win over Mongolian qualifier Khuvituguldur Byambajav, 21-9, 21-3.

His teammate Nguyen Hoang Nam trounced Uzbekistan's Rafael Zakirov 21-12, 21-9. Nam will play the winner of the match between No 10 Wei Feng Chong of Malaysia and Lin Chia Hsuan of Taiwan.

Nam and Duong Bao Duc are the only Vietnamese duo in the tournament. They came back to beat Kona Tarun and Vishnu Arun from India 22-24, 21-19, 21-12 in the men's doubles.

There are no Vietnamese females left in the event. Vu Thi Trang was ousted 18-21, 9-21 by Japanese Nichaon Jindapon. — VNS