Histeammates stumbled in other matches, with Tu Hoang Thong and Dao ThienHai losing to Liu Xiangyi and Tin Jingyao of Singapore; and Nguyen SyHung losing to Yap Kim Steven of the Philippines.
The 9-round tournament, set to wrap up on March 16, will offer 35,000 USD in prizes. The top winner will earn 12,000 USD.
Winners of previous editions, Le Quang Liem (3rd edition) and Ni Huaof China (2nd edition), are seeded one and two in a field of 80 playersfrom 16 countries and territories including China, India, thePhilippines and Russia.-VNA