Chinese shuttlers qualify for 2022 Badminton Asia Championships

MANILA - Weng Hongyang and Lei Lanxi of China progressed through the qualifying rounds of the 2022 Badminton Asia Championships which began on Tuesday in Manila.

Weng, who took down the Maldives' Hussein Zayan Shaheed Zaki 21-11, 21-9, and Myanmar's Phone Pyae Naing 21-13, 21-8, comfortably entered the tournament from Group B.

Lei Lanxi joins Weng in the main draw after beating Jewel Angelo Albo of the Philippines 21-17, 21-15, and Chan Yin-chak of China's Hong Kong 21-16, 13-21, 21-11 in Group D.

The stage is now set for the tournament's main draw after the qualification stages of both men's and women's singles ended at a sports complex in Muntinlupa City.

Kazakhstan's Dmitriy Panarin became the last man to qualify, after the 22-year-old, who had earlier defeated Bahrain's Adnan Ebrahim 21-12, 21-14, withstood the challenge from Filipino veteran Ros Pedrosa 21-14, 21-8.

On the women's side, Indonesia's Stephanie Widjaja and Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi topped their respective groups to book their places in the main bracket.

Widjaja swept Group B with wins over the Philippines' Jaja Andres 21-10, 21-8, and the Maldives' Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq 21-4, 21-8. Dewi took the lead in Group D with victories over Mohd Khairul Miyisha of Malaysia 21-18, 21-9, and Mikaela De Guzman of the Philippines 25-23, 21-8.

Tan Zhing Yi of Malaysia also entered the knockouts after winning over Jordan's Domou Amro 21-8, 21-15, while Lee Seo-jin of South Korea took her two victories over Siti Nurshuhaini of Malaysia 21-13, 21-17, and Saloni Samirbhai Mehta of China's Hong Kong 21-17, 21-17.

The Philippines is hosting the Badminton Asia Championships from April 26 to May 1 after the tournament was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Formerly known as the Asian Badminton Championships, the tournament was first hosted in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia in 1962, and until the COVID-related disruption, was held annually since 1991. The Badminton World Federation has upgraded the tournament from a World Tour Super 500 event to a World Tour Super 1000 event this year.

China currently holds the most medals, followed by South Korea and Indonesia.