Bulgaria’s top-ranked women’s badminton player, Kaloyana Nalbantova, ended her participation in the very first round of the “Super 500” tournament in Yeosu City, South Korea.
The Bulgarian was unable to challenge the world No. 1 and top seed An Se-young. The home representative, who is the Olympic and world champion, won convincingly 21:6, 21:8.
This was Nalbantova’s fourth defeat in her clashes with the Korean star. The two first met during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The Bulgarian is ranked 36th in the world.
Meanwhile, sisters Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva will begin their campaign in the women’s doubles competition in the second round. The Bulgarians are the top seeds and occupy ninth place in the world rankings.
Their first opponents will be Japan’s Ririna Hiramoto and Chiharu Shida.