Kim Ngan - Kim Loi: Women challenge men

2 nữ VĐV xinh đẹp tài năng Trần Thị Kim Lợi (trái) và Đặng Kim Ngân — Two beautiful and talented female athletes Tran Thi Kim Loi (left) and Dang Kim Ngan

The 2024 Youth Pickleball Tournament – VINFAST Cup will take place on July 6-7, 2024, at LA PIKO (Lan Anh Club, 291 Cach Mang Thang Tam Street, Ward 12, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City), especially witnessing 2 female pickleball athletes registering to compete in 2 events: Open and Super Cup.

Unlike most other tournaments, Thanh Nien Newspaper has selected top Vietnamese athletes such as Ly Minh Triet, Truong Vinh Hien, Trinh Linh Giang, Le Quoc Khanh, Le Ba Thanh Xuan, Vo Minh Luan... to compete in the highest doubles event, the Super Cup, while the Open event is more open.

But the peak content of the pickleball doubles event is not only a stage for men, when there is a challenge from 2 female athletes Dang Kim Ngan - Tran Thi Kim Loi who also registered to compete in the Super Cup.

Dang Kim Ngan, widely known by her nickname Co Ba, was once a top badminton player in Vietnam with outstanding achievements such as the 2009 National U.19 Gold Medal and the 2019 Vietnam Silver Medal in doubles.

Đặng Kim Ngân thi đấu ở giải vô địch châu Á 2024 — Dang Kim Ngan competes in the 2024 Asian Championship

However, in the past few months, the female athlete born in 1991 has stopped playing badminton and switched to playing the new but attractive sport of pickleball, which is probably more suitable for her.

Along with this change, Ms. Ba Dang Kim Ngan even opened a sports shop DKN Store (No. 146 Ly Thai To, Ward 2, District 3) to sell sports equipment, especially for her two favorite sports: badminton and pickleball.

Before participating in the 2024 Thanh Nien Pickleball Tournament - VINFAST Cup, Kim Ngan also had impressive achievements such as silver medal in women's doubles 19 Open (with athlete Karina), the most challenging event at the 2024 Asian Championship, gold medal in women's doubles at the international pickleball tournament in Ho Tram (Ba Ria - Vung Tau province).

Ms. Ba, from Tien Giang, shared with Thanh Nien Newspaper: “I quit badminton 3 months ago and switched to pickleball. At this age, I feel that this new sport is suitable for me. Pickleball does not require too much physical strength but requires dexterity, reflexes and changing the state and intensity of movement from heavy to light, fast to slow in a split second.

Trần Thị Kim Lợi là 1 trong 7 HLV Pro đầu tiên của pickleball Việt Nam — Tran Thi Kim Loi is one of the first 7 Pro coaches of Vietnamese pickleball.

I registered to compete in the Open event, but also wanted to compete in the Super Cup to challenge myself and see where my level is. The fact that the tournament is held indoors at the La Piko stadium cluster of Lan Anh Club helps me feel secure about my physical condition."

Meanwhile, for senior Tran Thi Kim Loi, pickleball is like an adventure, a new and exciting experience for the Vietnamese women's singles tennis champion in 2002 and 2005, who won the gold medal, silver medal and bronze medal at the National Sports Festival.

After retiring, Kim Ngan surprised everyone when she switched from holding a racket to holding scissors, literally learning the trade and becoming a professional hairdresser, with clipper skills that were no less than those of her male colleagues.

The female athlete born in 1983 said that she was one of the first people in Vietnam to be exposed to pickleball through the "persuasion" of her Vietnamese-American friend Quynh Nguyen (a former table tennis player who is currently playing professional pickleball in the US).

Việc nhưng4 VĐV nữ như Kim Ngân (trái), Kim Lợi ở sân chơi nam cao nhất là rất thú vị — The appearance of female athletes like Kim Ngan (left) and Kim Loi in the highest category for men is very interesting.

Quickly captivated by this unique sport, Tran Thi Kim Loi is one of the first 6 Vietnamese athletes to participate in the 2023 Asian Championship held in Taiwan with a silver medal in the Open mixed doubles over 35 years old.

At the same time, Kim Loi is also one of the first 7 Vietnamese coaches to be granted a professional coaching certificate by the Asian Pickleball Federation. For her, competing in the Super Cup at the 2024 Youth Pickleball Tournament - VINFAST Cup is an exciting experience that cannot be missed.

She said: “Pickleball is still a new sport in Vietnam, and the competition is still open. My participation in the Super Cup will be at the same level as the U.19 Open and the Over 35 Open in Asia, bringing together many very strong athletes.

I am really looking forward to the moment when I step onto the field and compete with the men in the most competitive events. It will be a special experience because I believe that over time, the level and the severity will gradually increase, the younger athletes will rise more, there will be more events… there will not be many more opportunities for me.”