Full stretch: Vu Thi Trang plays a return against Fitriani Fitriani of Indonesia during the first round match of the Ciputra Hanoi-Yonex Sunrise Vietnam International Challenge. — Photo courtersy of organising board

HA NOI  ( VNS)  — National badminton player Vu Thi Trang struggled during the first round match of the Ciputra Hanoi-Yonex Sunrise Vietnam International Challenge yesterday.

The No 3 seed worked hard before beating Fitriani Fitriani of Indonesia 21-19, 16-21, 21-16, amidst strong support from home fans at the Cau Giay Gymnasium.

Trang, the world No 46, took nearly 75 minutes to defeat the unknown athlete in the women's singles category.

Her next rival will be Supanida Katehong of Thailand, who had won 21-14, 21-10 over Rui Chen Yap of Malaysia, in an earlier match held yesterday.

In the morning, Pham Cao Cuong was the first Vietnamese to enter the second round of the challenge.

Cuong had no difficulty beating Tawan Huansuriya of Thailand 21-13, 21-10 during the men's singles match.

He will however face a big obstacle in the second round as his rival will be another contender for the No 1 rank, Suppanyu Avihingsanon, from Thailand.

His teammate Nguyen Hoang Nam also advanced after his 21-19, 21-11 win over Krishna Kumar of Malaysia.

In the mixed doubles event, Viet Nam's Duong Bao Duc and Thai Thi Hong Gam also won a berth in the next round yesterday.

They beat Japanese pair Tomoya Takashina and Rie Etoh 19-21, 21-18, 21-13. However, their teammate could not make it.

Minh Bao and Le Thi Thanh Thuy lost 16-21, 21-12, 11-21 to No 7 duo Lu Ching Yao and Chiang Kai Hsin of Chinese Taipei.

Earlier, Do Tuan Duc and Pham Nhu Thao, were crushed 14-21, 21-13, 18-21 by Parinyawat Thongnuam and Chaladchalam Chayanit of Thailand.

Nearly 300 athletes from 17 countries have registered for the event. The winners of the tournament on March 22 will walk away with 4,000 points and more than US$1,100 in cash. — VNS