Laughter abounds at over-50s pickleball tournament

Vietnamese pickleball fans are proud of the achievements of the Ly Minh Triet/Ly Minh Tan brothers in the international arena such as the gold medal in the men's doubles open age group over 50 World Cup Series in Indonesia. Currently in Vietnam, there are many pickleball players over 50 years old and that is the inspiration for the birth of the 50++ pickleball tournament for the Pili Cup 2024 with the desire to create a playground for "veteran" players to help them gain more confidence in participating in international tournaments.

Athletes compete with determination in the 50+ pickleball tournament

"There are very few playgrounds for the elderly at present, so we unanimously launched this tournament. Hopefully, after the first successful organization in Ho Chi Minh City, we will expand to other provinces or nationwide to expand the scale, creating opportunities for many players of the same age to compete," said Mr. Le Thanh Hai, representative of the organizing committee of the 50+ pickleball tournament.

Actress Kim Phuong (left) is passionate about pickleball, excellently won the women's doubles championship series B

The first tournament that just ended had the participation of 32 male players and 16 female players, competing in men's doubles and women's doubles. To increase the opportunity for the athletes to compete, the organizers introduced a diverse competition format when the losing players in the group stage continued to compete in the series B. Therefore, the players competed very "fiercely", creating very good matches.

Athlete Pham Huy Minh enthusiastically competed and won the series B championship title.

"The tournament was very good and well-organized for the players. This is truly a useful playground in the spirit of sportsmanship, connection, sharing and fun for those aged 50+. We have more joy in life when meeting our peers, exchanging and learning from each other," said athlete Pham Huy Minh after winning the series B championship.

Best athletes in men's doubles series A

In series A, the Gia Thuan/Viet Lap pair won the championship after defeating Van An/Van Hung in the final. The Thanh Hai/Van Hoa and Huu Hung/Tran Dinh pairs tied for third place. Le Thi Van/Bich Hoa won the women's doubles series A, Ngoc Van/Nguyen Thi Hong came in second place, and Hong Chau/Van Trinh and Quynh Van/My Han came in third place. In series B, the Huy Minh/Dinh Khanh pair won first place in the men's doubles and the My Le/Kim Phuong pair won first place in the women's doubles.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tran-ngap-tieng-cuoi-o-giai-pickleball-danh-cho-nguoi-tren-50-tuoi-185241117195744126.htm