Kaloyana Nalbantova recorded a victory at the World Tour Super 500 badminton tournament in Kumamoto, Japan. The 20-year-old Bulgarian defeated world No. 16 Michelle Li of Canada 22:20, 21:16.
The tournament has a prize fund of 500,000 dollars. In the round of 16, Nalbantova will face China's Yu Fei Chen, who is ranked fourth in the world. The Bulgarian is coached by Stiliyan Makarski.
Five-time European champions Stefanie and Gabriela Stoeva ended their participation in the tournament after losing to Koreans Kim Yu Jung and Lee Yu Lim. The Bulgarian duo won the first game 21:17 but lost the next two 13:21 and 5:21.