Vietnamese badminton aim for medal at SEA Games 31 | Culture-Sports

In order to breathe new life into Vietnamese badminton, those responsible for this discipline have recruited an Indonesian expert for the national team.

“We hope that our new expert will be able to significantly improve the professional quality of the entire team, so that our players can fully exploit their potential during important sporting events in 2022, including the 31st Southeast Asian Games. (SEA Games 31),” shared Lê Thanh Hà, secretary general of the Vietnam Badminton Federation.

To prepare for these games, 20 players have been called up to the national team. Since the beginning of March, they have been training as seriously as possible at the Sports University of Bac Ninh, under the tutelage of Vietnamese coaches and an Indonesian expert, to maximize their chances of success.

Promising players

“Although the preparation has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the best elements still maintain their level of performance. A good omen!”, Estimated Lê Thanh Hà.

Nguyên Thùy Linh is a medal hope for SEA Games 31. Photo: CTV/CVN

The young players Lê Duc Phat and Nguyên Thùy Linh confirmed all the good that we thought of them, by winning the individual titles respectively for men and women at the 2021 National Badminton Championships played from December 5 to 12 in the province of Bac Giang, in the North. As for Nguyên Tiên Minh and Vu Thi Trang, the two deans of the national team, although they are no longer at the peak of their careers, they have been crowned vice-champions of this competition. Besides these four headliners, the national team has in its hands some promising elements that are Trân Thi Phuong Thuy, Dinh Thi Phuong Hông, Nguyên Tiên Tuân.

“The results of the national selections at the National Championships have proven their hard work,” said coach Ngô Trung Dung. In his opinion, due to the lack of training due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is difficult to properly assess their abilities. This has greatly affected the national team preparation process.

Despite this truncated preparation, the national team is determined to win at least one medal. The objective appears modest but must be measured against the forces present, and Vietnam is still far from being able to compete in this discipline with Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore or even Thailand.

Intensive preparation

Vietnam Badminton Federation Secretary General Lê Thanh Hà informed that by the opening of SEA Games 31, the federation will hold two national tournaments. The first will be for all clubs in cities and provinces. The second will be reserved for the most brilliant players in the country. These will be two good opportunities for the members of the national team to gain experience and progress.

The national badminton team training at the Bac Giang Province Omnisport Palace. Photo: CVN

National team coach Ngô Trung Dung said the top performers are currently undergoing intensive training at Bac Ninh Sports University. After the two aforementioned tournaments, the team will go to the Sports Palace of Bac Giang province (North) for the last phase of preparation.

“Despite many difficulties due to COVID-19, we will do our utmost to achieve the best results at SEA Games 31, thus contributing to the good performance of the Vietnamese sports delegation”, shared Nguyên Thùy Linh, enthusiastically.

The Director of the Department of High Level Sports 2, under the General Department of Physical Education and Sports, Ngô Ich Quân, pointed out that along with creating the optimal conditions in terms of facilities and infrastructure, his administration undertook to organize competitions so that young talented players rub shoulders more and can thus forge their competitive spirit.

According to the competition schedule announced by the Organizing Committee, the badminton matches at SEA Games 31 will be held from May 13 to 21 at the Bac Giang Provincial Sports Center. Chance of the calendar, in Bangkok from May 8 to 15, 2022 will be held the Thomas Cups (men) and Uber (women) of the Badminton World Team Championships organized by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The Southeast Asian region will have four teams participating in this tournament, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. This means that these countries are unlikely to send their best players to SEA Games 31, which will increase Vietnam’s chances of winning a medal.

With effective preparation and flexible adaptation to COVID-19, hope the badminton national team will achieve good results at SEA Games 31! – CVN/VNA