Nguyen Tien Minh during his first match at the Maldives International Challenge badminton tournament yesterday. Photo soha.vn

Minh took 22 minutes to overcome Goonethilleka 21-8, 21-8 in the men’s singles.

The top Vietnamese player will next face Aryamann Tandon of India.

Pham Cao Cuong, who is seeded No 16 here, defeated Maxime Moreels of Belgium in the other men’s singles match on Wednesday.

Cuong struggled in the first set before winning 23-21, but he quickly crushed Moreels 21-9 in the second set to finish the match in 44 minutes.

Cuong will next play the winner of the match between Malaysia's Sim Wee Peng and India's Kevin Arokia Walter.

Vietnam also have representatives in the women’s singles. While Vu Thi Trang has a bye in the first round, her teammate Vu Thi Anh Thu will play India's Aakarshi Kashyap.

The Maldives Challenge runs from September 25 to 29 with a prize purse of US$25,000.

VNS