A fateful turn
Speaking of the Ly brothers, these are two special brothers in the Vietnamese sports world, who were professional table tennis players for the People's Public Security (CAND) team and the Vietnamese national team in the 1990s. The older brother Ly Minh Triet (born in 1972) won two consecutive national men's singles championships (1995, 1996), while the younger brother Ly Minh Tan (born in 1974) won the national men's doubles gold medal in 1993 and the men's singles bronze medal in 1995. The peak of the Ly brothers' professional table tennis career was the historic men's team silver medal at the 18th SEA Games in Chiang Mai in 1995.
Mr. Ly Minh Triet (left) and Ly Minh Tan on the field
After retiring in early 2000, the duo Ly Minh Triet - Ly Minh Tan continued to leave their mark in promoting the movement of tennis training and competition. With their innate dexterity and athleticism, they are a heavyweight pair in the Southern amateur tennis scene with championships at the famous Becamex or Phu My Hung tournaments.
Athlete Ly Minh Tan
After a long time playing tennis and with their advanced age, both Ly brothers suffered knee injuries and considered quitting the sport. But then, they accidentally fell in love with a sport that had just been introduced to Vietnam called pickleball. When this sport appeared in Vietnam in 2023, Mr. Ly Minh Triet played with his friends and began to feel excited about the sport that uses a racket similar to table tennis, a ball similar to tennis and is played on a court the size of a badminton court. "When I came into contact with this sport, I felt it was very suitable for Vietnamese people, with the ball moves requiring quick and skillful reflexes but also requiring perseverance and patience to be able to win," shared 52-year-old player Ly Minh Triet. After that, the former Vietnamese table tennis champion also invited his younger brother Ly Minh Tan to participate in this sport.
Asian Gold Medal Goal
With their inherent dexterity and quickness, the two Ly brothers have formed a formidable pickleball duo in Vietnam after only a few months of training. The first turning point for both was the open championship in Binh Duong in November 2023.
Ly Minh Triet's strong attacking style and Ly Minh Tan's skillful defense helped them win the gold medal in the over-50 age group open event of the WPC Series - Asia Pacific 2024 Race to Carmelina international tournament that took place in Ho Tram (Ba Ria-Vung Tau) in early April, after defeating a very strong pair from Singapore in the final match. With this achievement, both are aiming for the highest goal at the first Asian Open Championship held in Vietnam, hosted by Pickleball And Friends Vietnam Club from April 30 to May 4 at Ky Hoa 2 Club (HCMC) with a total prize of up to 30,000 USD. Importantly, as the Ly brothers shared, they want to bring the gold medal to spread and further promote the new sport, which is very suitable for the qualities of Vietnamese people, helping sports lovers have more healthy choices.
Pickleball craze is booming in Vietnam
In mid-2023, a small group of Vietnamese people learned about pickleball through Vietnamese Americans. But after only 8 months, Ho Chi Minh City alone had many official clubs with dedicated pickleball courts and more than 15 clubs using tennis courts interspersed with pickleball. Nationwide, more than 20 provinces and cities have participated in and developed this sport. Unlike football, tennis requires talent and a strong physical foundation, and requires long-term accumulation... pickleball is considered a popular sport. The unique feature of this sport is that it does not distinguish between age or gender, people from 7 years old to over 70 years old can still play, and male and female athletes can compete together.
Pickleball grows at record speed
Pickleball was invented in Washington state (USA) in 1965 and quickly became popular in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. In the 3 years from 2021 - 2023, pickleball was confirmed to be the fastest growing sport in the US, with an estimated 4.3 million players in 2023 and thousands of tournaments each year. Pickleball is characterized by a small size like a badminton court, a racket larger than a table tennis ball and a hollow plastic ball with many holes the size of a felt ball but lighter. The professional and world tour systems calculate points according to the Professional Picke Association Tour (PPA tour).
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