Sarawakian shuttler Ling Ching to battle Asia’s elite in China

KUCHING (April 6): Wong Ling Ching, who is Sarawak’s only shuttler in the national team, will vie with top players in the continent at the Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) to be held in Ningbo, China this week from Tuesday.

The BWF World Tour events are taking a break in April to make way for simultaneous continental tournaments (Asia, Europe and Pan America) followed by the Thomas and Uber Cup finals.

2025 was a breakout year for the Miri-born Ling Ching who joined the national squad last Feb. She began her campaign in the international circuit ranked outside 100. Her ranking improved to No.47 by the end of 2025.

Her rise was fueled by results in lower-tier BWF tournaments. She entered the final of Malaysia Super 100 and reached the last eight of the Canada Open, Vietnam Open and Australian Masters. Top-tier BWF events of the Super 750 and 1000 series are reserved for the world’s top 32.

It will be Ling Ching’s second appearance at the BAC. Last April, ranked No.99 ,she had to play in the qualifying round before making the main draw. However, she was eliminated in the first round after a fierce 17-21, 21-16, 17-21 losing battle to Indonesia’s Komang Dewi.

This year, the 22-year-old Sarawakian qualified for the BAC by merit based on her ranking as No.38 in the world and No.27 in Asia. She will be joined by compatriot K. Letshanaa (World No.37). A third Malaysian Goh Jin Wei (World No.47) will have to fight through the qualifiers to make the cut.

The 2026 BAC is sanctioned by BWF as a top-tier tournament with ranking points equivalent to a Super 1000 event and its prize pool of US$550,000. The women’s singles competition has attracted the world’s top 11 who happen to be all Asians.

World No.1 An See Young (South Korea) and No.2 Wang Zhi Yi (China) will renew their rivalry while No.3 Chen Yu Fei (China) will defend her title. Past champions Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon (2015 edition) and Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi (2019 edition) are also in the fray.