Ashmita Chaliha Became the First Indian to Win the Korea Masters Badminton

Ashmita Chaliha has done something no Indian has managed before. On 9th August, 2026, the 26-year-old shuttler lifted the Korea Masters 2026 title, beating China's Han Qianxi in a tense women's singles final. It wasn't easy; she lost the first game, but she found her rhythm and closed it out in style.

Indian Shuttler Ashmita Chaliha Wins Korea Masters Badminton 2026

The Korea Masters is a BWF Super 300 event, and no Indian player had ever won it before Chaliha. She got past top seed Hina Akechi of Japan in the quarter-finals — a genuine upset — then knocked out fellow Indian Rakshitha Ramraj in an all-India semi-final. That set up her first-ever World Tour final appearance.

Final Match Details of Ashmita Chaliha

1. Ashmita Chaliha started brightly, racing to a 9-5 lead in the opening game. Then Han Qianxi found five points in a row, and the game slipped away from her, 14-21. 
2. Most players might have folded there. She didn't. Chaliha regrouped, leaned on her interval leads, and took the next two games 21-14, 21-14. 
3. The whole match wrapped up in 53 minutes. 

Ashmita Chaliha Wins Her First Maiden BWF World Tour Title

1. This was Ashmita’s first World Tour title, and it puts her name alongside some serious company. She now joins Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Devika Sihag, and Tanvi Sharma as Indian women who've won a BWF Super 300-or-higher singles title. 
2. Tanvi Sharma won the Taipei Open just last week, meaning India has now taken back-to-back women's singles crowns on the tour.

Ashmita Chaliha is the fourth Indian woman to win a singles World Tour title in 2026

After Sindhu's Japan Open win, Sihag at the Thailand Masters, and Sharma in Taipei. Add Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty's men's doubles win in Singapore back in May, and it's clear: 2026 has been a strong year for Indian badminton.

Who Is Ashmita Chaliha?

1. Born: October 18, 1999, in Guwahati, Assam
2. 2018: Won her first senior international title at the Dubai International Challenge
3. 2019: Claimed double gold at the South Asian Games — women's singles and team events
4. 2024: Part of the gold-medal-winning Indian team at the Asia Team Championships.