Vietnamese duo Nguyen Hoang Anh and Nguyen Thi Ngoc Huyen beat Chinese Taipei's Chun Yao Liao and Hsin Ping Chang 2-1 (18-21, 21-18, 21-15) in the mixed doubles qualifying round of the Kawasaki-Biere Larue Viet Nam International Series yesterday.

The hosts' team needed just 32 minutes to complete the first win in the central city's Tuyen Son Sport Centre.

Their teammates Truong Thanh Long and Dang Kim Ngan also took a 20-22, 21-14, 21-11 win over Malaysia's Fang Yang Lim and Sin Zou Ng.

In the women's singles, Nguyen Thi Thao Mai edged out Chinese Taipei's I-Ting Liu 21-14, 11-21, 21-18 in 40 minutes, but Tran Thi Ha Vy lost to Thailand's Nattcha Chatputtarn 21-10, 21-6 in just 15 minutes.

Ornicha Jongsathpornpan of Thailand cruised to a 21-5, 21-14 win over Nguyen Thach My Linh in another quick match that lasted just 18 minutes.

After suffering a shock 21-8 loss in the first set against Malaysia's Andrew Zheng Zhou Liw, Dang Quang Huy fought back to win the second and third sets 21-8, 21-5 to enter the second round in the men's singles event.

In other men's singles matches, Malaysian Muhammad Shakhier Ruhizad easily beat Wijaya Alfat of Indonsia 21-11, 21-14, while Chun Cheng Chen of Chinese Taipei edged out Yik Fong Lim of Malaysia 21-11, 21-14.

In the men's doubles, Vietnamese pair Nguyen Khac Tuan and Pham Hai Nam had a tough job on hand in the knock-out match against Thailand's Nonthawat Sattanako and Panachai Worasaktyanan.

The host duo eventually completed a 21-15, 19-21, 21-19 win in 50 minutes.

The series, part of the Badminton World Federation's (BWF) competition system, ends on Sunday.

VNS/VNN