Ashmita stuns Han to win maiden BWF Tour title at Korea Masters

ASAN: India's Ashmita Chaliha produced a gritty show to secure her maiden BWF World tour title with a fighting win over fourth seed Han Qian Xi of China in the women's singles final of the Korea Masters Super 300 badminton tournament here on Sunday.

The 26-year-old from Assam, who had suffered a career-threatening knee injury two years back in Korea, overcame a slow start and a testing decider to complete a memorable victory, recovering from the loss of the opening game to stun world No. 35 Han 14-21, 21-14, 21-14 in the summit clash that lasted 53 minutes.

"I feel really great and unbelievable. But then I am trying to digest it. Now, I am hungry for more," said Ashmita, who trains under Park Tae-Sang at the National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati.

"In the first game, it was a little bit tricky because of the drift conditions, so I was not able to manage it... But in the second, the other side was more comfortable and there was less drift, so I was able to control it. And in the third, after 11 points, I changed again, so I was on the good side. I'm glad that I could pull off."

Ashmita's win marks back-to-back BWF World Tour finals for Indians, with Tanvi Sharma having won the Taipei Open last Sunday.

Park, who has now seen two of his wards win Super 300 titles in successive weeks, believes Ashmita always had the tools to succeed but needed to become more consistent in her approach.

"Before the injury, Ashmita was already a good player and a very good talent. She has a good smash and nice movement, but unfortunately, at the wrong time, she had to take a break because of the injury," the South Korean told PTI.

"When she joined me, I thought, 'Oh, she is a good player.' But tactically and strategically, and also a little bit mentally, she had some problems."

The world number 50 Ashmita had to undergo surgery and an extensive rehabilitation period after suffering a medial meniscus tear in her right knee during the Korea Open in 2024. She returned in February next year and played 14 events.

This year she competed in a couple of events but then spent three months building strength to handle a full elite BWF calendar load.

She enjoyed a strong comeback on the BWF Tour with back-to-back quarterfinals at China Masters and Malaysia Masters and then a semifinal appearance at the Macau Open.

Ahead of Sunday's final, Park and Ashmita analysed Han's game on video, with the coach identifying unforced errors as the biggest obstacle.

"Yesterday, we also did a video analysis of her Chinese opponent. I told Ashmita, 'Your biggest problem is your own mistakes. You are making simple mistakes. But if you can reduce those simple mistakes, 100 per cent, I promise you, you can win the title today," Park said.

In the final, Ashmita opened up a 3-0 start and had a 9-5 lead early on but Han made a stirring comeback as the two players were locked at 11-11.

The Chinese shuttler found another gear and a run of points helped her establish control as she closed out the game comfortably to earn the bragging rights.

Ashmita responded strongly in the second game. She attacked with greater authority, using her smashes to put Han under pressure while also producing some sharp defensive returns to break off aft 6-6.

The Indian led 11-8 at the interval and continued to dictate the rallies thereafter.

Han struggled to close the gap as Ashmita maintained a comfortable advantage, moving 17-10 ahead before wrapping up the game 21-14 with another powerful attacking shot to force a decider.

The final game was closely fought early on, with Ashmita moving to a 5-2 lead early on only to see Han edge ahead 11-9 at the mid-game break.

Ashmita, however, kept fighting and gradually turned the momentum in her favour. She moved ahead 12-11 with a precise winner along the line. Another exceptional shot, played while stretching low towards the shuttle, landed just inside the court as Chaliha extended her advantage to 15-11.

The Indian continued to find the gaps in Han's court and a cross-court winner made it 19-14. Han then sent her return wide, handing Ashmita the championship point and, ultimately, her first BWF World Tour title.

"In the first game, she played well. But in the second game, again, she started making easy mistakes. When the second game finished, I told her, 'Ashmita, think about the first game and think about the second game. What was the difference?' The reason was very simple. In the second game, you made too many mistakes," Park said.

"If you reduce those mistakes, you have a big chance because today's opponent, Han, is normally a rally player. She doesn't have a very powerful smash, she doesn't have much deception, and she is not particularly strong around the front court. She is mainly a rally, rally player... so I told her very strongly again, 'Ashmita, you have to change your game.'

"At the beginning of the third game, up to 11 points, Han was playing a little faster than Ashmita. So I told Ashmita, 'From this point, you have to play more aggressively. You have a good smash and good power. Why are you making mistakes with drop shots? Why are you making mistakes with your clears? Just use your smash.' And she did it. The start of the third game was very good."