Although ranked 18th in the world , Nguyen Thuy Linh 's final match is not considered as easy as the semi-finals. Because, although ranked 107th in the world, Cai Yanyan was once a bright talent of Chinese badminton, at one point reaching 14th place.

As expected, in the first set, Cai Yanyan quickly showed off his comprehensive technique and difficult playing style, making Thuy Linh confused. The Chinese player took the lead 14-6, before closing the set with a 21-17 victory, despite Thuy Linh's efforts to catch up at the end of the set.

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Thuy Linh could not defend her Vietnam Open championship.

In set 2, Thuy Linh entered the game more strongly, pressuring her opponent with tricky shots and creating a 7-3 gap. Cai Yanyan also made more mistakes, it seemed like the opportunity to tie the set opened up for Thuy Linh. However, with experience and courage, Cai Yanyan rose up in time, leveled the gap and brought the set into a suffocating tug of war.

Although Thuy Linh saved two championship points, she still could not prevent her opponent from breaking away to win 23-21. Thereby, Cai Yanyan won 2-0 overall and stepped up to the championship title.

This defeat prevented the Vietnamese badminton "hot girl" from completing her goal of winning the Vietnam Open tournament 4 times in a row.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nguyen-thuy-linh-lo-hen-chuc-vo-dich-cau-long-vietnam-open-2025-2442402.html