NINGBO, April 8 (Xinhua) -- China's Shi Yuqi and South Korea's An Se-young cruised into the men's and women's singles last 16 at the Badminton Asia Championships on Wednesday, winning their opening matches in straight games.

Second-seeded Shi delivered a composed performance to defeat Lee Chia-hao of Chinese Taipei 21-15, 21-17.

"I've never won the Asia Championships before, and I hope to make a breakthrough this time," said Shi, adding that his recent training form has been strong.

"I won't hold anything back here to save energy for the Thomas Cup. This tournament matters a great deal, both for our men's singles players and for me personally," he said.

Elsewhere in men's singles, defending champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn beat Angus Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong, China, 21-14, 21-18, while Li Shifeng crashed out in a surprise straight-game defeat to India's Ayush Shetty.

In women's singles, top seed and world No. 1 An showed her dominance by beating Singapore's Yeo Jia Min 21-15, 21-10 in just 40 minutes.

China's Wang Zhiyi eased past Chinese Taipei's Chiu Pin-chian 21-16, 21-12, but Han Yue lost to South Korea's Sim Yu-jin in a tight three-game battle.

"I haven't trained systematically because of a knee injury, and my speed isn't where it was before," Han said after the loss. "But honestly, it was good to face her today. Getting a feel for her game will help me prepare better for the upcoming Uber Cup."

Japanese star Akane Yamaguchi beat the Maldives' Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq 21-5, 21-9, and South Korea's Kim Ga-eun defeated Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon in straight games to reach the last 16.

In doubles action, several high-profile pairs advanced comfortably, including local women's duo Liu Shengshu/Tan Ning and Malaysian men's doubles favorites Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik, who both won in straight games. ■