Vietnam’s Thuy Linh advances to last 16 at badminton world championships

The world No. 22 overcame Gilmour 21-17 23-21 in a 44-minute match, extending her strong form after eliminating former world No. 1 Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in the first round.

Linh, 27, showed composure after falling behind 3-0 and 10-5 early in the first set.

She recovered to level at 13-13 before closing out the set.

In the second, both players exchanged points in a tight battle, but the Vietnamese held her nerve to seal the match.

Gilmour, ranked 31st, had defeated Linh in their previous meeting in 2024, but could not repeat the result this time.

Linh will face No. 4 seed Chen Yu Fei of China, who won the gold medal at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, in the next round.

The 2025 Badminton World Championships are being held in Paris, France from August 25 to 31.

The tournament features the world’s top-ranked players and is one of the sport’s most prestigious events outside the Olympics.