Tien Minh won the national championship for the 15th time

Bac Giang 40-year-old tennis player Nguyen Tien Minh defeated Nguyen Tien Tuan 21-18, 21-12 in the 2023 national individual badminton final.

Tien Minh still maintained the flexibility of the former world No. 4, when he defeated Tien Tuan after only about 40 minutes of play in the final match on the afternoon of September 2. The 22-year-old player was better at smashing or hitting the shuttlecock, while his senior was better at dropping the shuttlecock or judging the situation. Tien Minh knew how to drop the shuttlecock when he felt that Tien Tuan was hitting the shuttlecock too hard and it went out. The match ended with the young player's smash going out.

Nguyen Tien Minh at the Vietnam International Challenger tournament at Tay Ho Stadium, Hanoi on March 21, 2023. Photo: Lam Thoa — Nguyen Tien Minh at the Vietnam International Challenger tournament at Tay Ho Stadium, Hanoi on March 21, 2023. Photo: *Lam Thoa*

Tien Minh won the national individual badminton championship for the 15th time , including a record 11 times crowned from 2002-2013. This streak only stopped in 2014 because he did not participate. After that, he won the national championship four more times in 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2013. What is special is that in the past 20 years, Tien Minh has reached the finals every time he has participated in a tournament.

The 40-year-old tennis player’s journey to the finals this year was more difficult, including a defeat to Tien Tuan in the group stage. Before that, Tien Minh defeated Dong Quang Huy and Vu Hai Dang in the qualifying round, to enter Group B with Tien Tuan, Le Minh Son and Phan Phuc Thinh. The tennis player who won the world bronze medal beat two weaker opponents, then lost to Tien Tuan but still entered the semi-finals as second in the group.

In the semi-finals on the evening of September 1, Tien Minh met Vietnam's number one player Nguyen Hai Dang, but he won after only two sets with a score of 21-18, 21-18. In the other semi-final, Tien Tuan defeated home player Tran Quoc Khanh 22-20, 21-15. Meeting again in the final, Tien Minh successfully exacted revenge on Tien Tuan to be crowned at the age of 40.

Tien Minh at the national individual badminton awards ceremony in Bac Giang on the afternoon of September 2, 2023. Photo: screenshot — Tien Minh at the national individual badminton awards ceremony in Bac Giang on the afternoon of September 2, 2023. Photo: *screenshot*

According to the Badminton World Rankings (BWF), Tien Minh is currently the third-ranked player in Vietnam after Nguyen Hai Dang and Le Duc Phat. However, Duc Phat had to face Hai Dang in the qualifying round and was eliminated before reaching the group stage. Duc Phat was not seeded in the tournament, so he was unlucky to face Hai Dang early.

The 2023 National Individual Badminton Championship will take place at the Bac Giang Gymnasium from August 29 to September 2. Players will compete in a knockout round to select eight players for the group stage, divided into two groups of four players each. From there, they will compete in a round-robin to select four players for the semi-finals.

In the women's singles, Nguyen Thuy Linh easily defeated Tran Thi Phuong Thuy 21-12, 21-13 to continue to dominate this event. In the semi-finals, Thuy Linh defeated Vu Thi Trang - former number one in Vietnam and also the wife of Nguyen Tien Minh.

Vietnam's top tennis players will rest before participating in the Vietnam Open from September 12 to September 17 in Ho Chi Minh City. This is the only tournament in Vietnam under the BWF World Tour system, Super 100 level.

Xuan Binh

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