Bui Bich Phuong (right) and Vu Thi Trang unexpectedly won a bronze medal in their first participation as a duo – Photo: QUY LUONG
On December 13 at noon, Vu Thi Trang and Bui Bich Phuong reached the semifinals of women’s doubles badminton at the 33rd SEA Games. Earlier in the quarterfinals, they had unexpectedly defeated the Filipino duo Mary Destiny Untal and Andrea Princess Hernandez.
By advancing to the next round, the Vietnamese duo are assured of a medal as the rules state that the two losing teams in the semi-finals will share the bronze medal.
This result was also almost certain for Vu Thi Trang and Bui Bich Phuong, as they had to compete against the strong Indonesian duo Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Meilysa Trias Puspitasari. As predicted, the two Vietnamese players suffered a clear defeat with scores of 10-21 and 9-21.
Nevertheless, winning a bronze medal in badminton at the 33rd SEA Games was a remarkable achievement for the Vietnam women’s doubles team. After all, this was not an event they had a chance at. It is all the more remarkable considering that Vu Thi Trang and Bui Bich Phuong are known precisely for their singles play.
They came to the SEA Games as an occasional women’s doubles team. Therefore, this bronze medal can be considered historic for them.
After winning the unexpected medal, Vu Thi Trang shared her thoughts: “Today we faced very strong opponents; they had trained very professionally, while we have only recently been training together.”
I play more singles myself, so I found doubles quite difficult. My sister and I did our best to play well, but our coordination left much to be desired because we had little time to practice.
I must say that I am extremely happy and excited. We did our best in the other matches, but the opponents were too strong. In this women’s doubles event, I was very lucky that Bui Bich Phuong played so well and energetically and defeated the Thai and Filipino duo, securing the bronze medal.”
Meanwhile, 18-year-old tennis player Bui Bich Phuong said: “When you play on such a big stage, every opponent is very strong. I came here with the determination to fight as hard as I can.”
“But to be honest, the opponents were too strong today, and to tell the truth, we had no chance at all. Nevertheless, it is an honor to win a medal in our first participation in the SEA Games.”
This is not only a historic achievement for the two players, but also the only medal for Vietnamese badminton at this tournament.
Bron: https://tuoitre.vn/vu-thi-trang-bui-bich-phuong-danh-rat-hay-de-thang-cap-doi-doi-thu-thai-lan-philippines-2025121315272719.htm
