Shi, An reach last-16 at Badminton Asia Championships

NINGBO, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Shi Yuqi of China and South Korea's An Se-young, respective men's and women's singles top seeds, both advanced to the second round of the Badminton Asia Championships here on Wednesday.

The Asia Championships, which runs from April 9 to 14, offers the final chance for Asian shuttlers to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games.

Women's world No. 1 An fought 89 minutes to overcome Japan's Nozomi Okuhara 21-15, 18-21, 21-17.

"It was a tough match. I'm happy that I finally won. The knee injury is still there. I have to learn to live with it," said An.

After losing the match, Okuhara failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics. "I couldn't find my legs in the third game, but I kept telling myself to keep running on the court. I have tried my best. I will adjust my mentality and prepare for the upcoming Uber Cup," the 29-year-old said in tears.

Home favorites Chen Yufei, He Bingjiao and Han Yue all claimed straight-game victories to progress.

Shi moved past India's Lakshya Sen 21-19, 21-15 to enter the men's singles last 16, setting up a clash with Japan's Kenta Nishimoto, who bested Loh Kean Yew of Singapore to advance.

In the women's doubles, China's top seeds Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan easily overcame the challenge posed by Indonesian duo Lanny Tria Mayasari/Ribka Sugiarto 21-15, 21-14 to reach the round of 16.

"Our goal is to win every match. I hope we can top the podium in Paris," said Chen.

Mixed doubles world No. 1 Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong of China breezed past Malaysia's Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei 21-15, 21-15 in 34 minutes, while South Korea's world champions Seo Seung-jae/Chae Yu-jung also enjoyed a comfortable 21-15, 21-13 win over Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin of Chinese Taipei.