Indonesia, 23 January 2026 – Nguyen Thuy Linh was eliminated in the women’s singles quarter-finals of the Indonesia Masters 2026 after losing to 2023 World Junior Champion Pitchamon Opatniputh, who is currently ranked 36th in the world.
At just 19 years old, Pitchamon Opatniputh is considered the brightest young star of Thai badminton. She has already achieved notable success, including helping Thailand secure women’s team gold medals at SEA Games 31 in Vietnam and SEA Games 32 in Cambodia. Her biggest achievement to date came in 2023, when she captured the women’s singles title at the World Junior Championships in the United States. Because of that pedigree, she was seen as a formidable opponent for Nguyen Thuy Linh, who entered the match ranked 21st in the world.
Pitchamon used her youth and speed effectively from the start. She opened the match with strong momentum and led 11–5 in the first game. However, Nguyen Thuy Linh responded with calmness and experience, winning a series of points in a row to level at 13–13 before closing the game 21–18.
The Thai player once again took control early in the second game, moving ahead 10–5. Nguyen Thuy Linh showed fighting spirit to claw back to 18–18. Despite saving several game points and creating chances to finish the match, she could not convert them and eventually lost the game 24–26, sending the contest into a deciding third game.
As the match wore on, fatigue began to affect Nguyen Thuy Linh, especially in long rallies. Pitchamon capitalized on this advantage and secured a 21–12 win in the final game, sealing a 2–1 victory after 72 minutes of play.
The Indonesia Masters 2026 belongs to the BWF World Tour Super 500 category, featuring a total prize pool of USD 500,000. Winners of the men’s and women’s singles events earn USD 37,500 each. Entry is limited to players with high BWF rankings, and Nguyen Thuy Linh was the only representative of Vietnamese badminton at the tournament. Her quarter-final finish guarantees her at least USD 3,000 in prize money and 5,040 valuable ranking points.
Tien Tran
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