Nguyen Hai Dang enters the 10th National Sports Games of Vietnam as the man to beat in men’s singles badminton, but the path to defending his 2022 gold medal runs through a domestic field far deeper than the world rankings suggest, vietnam.vn reported. The Ho Chi Minh City player, ranked 75th in the world and Vietnam’s highest-ranked male shuttler, won the title at the 2022 Games and arrives in Ho Chi Minh City as the clear favorite. Yet Le Duc Phat, Phan Phuc Thinh and 43-year-old veteran Nguyen Tien Minh all sit within striking distance on the national stage, where domestic results routinely diverge from international standings.
The Games themselves loom large: the quadrennial National Sports Games, Vietnam’s biggest domestic sporting event, will be hosted primarily by Ho Chi Minh City — 20 years after the city last staged the competition — with events also in Dong Nai, Dong Thap and Hanoi. Organizers expect roughly 12,000 officials, coaches and athletes, 2,000 referees and about 200,000 guests, spectators and tourists across 34 competition sites, 31 of them in Ho Chi Minh City, according to vietnam.vn. The program spans 48 sports and 973 medal events, with 36 delegations from 34 provinces and cities plus police and military teams.
Hai Dang’s Ranking Gap Masks a Tight Domestic Race
The numbers on paper tell one story. Nguyen Hai Dang, 75th in the world rankings, stands well clear of Le Duc Phat of the Army (207th), Phan Phuc Thinh of Ho Chi Minh City (209th) and Nguyen Tien Minh (248th). But vietnam.vn cautioned that the world-ranking gap does not fully reflect the relative level of the players, noting that Vietnamese men’s badminton remains extremely competitive and that national matchups are often unpredictable.
Le Duc Phat is widely viewed as Hai Dang’s biggest rival. The two have battled fiercely for years, and despite recent injuries that affected his form, Duc Phat has still produced impressive performances at international tournaments, according to the report.
Phan Phuc Thinh, 23, is another name to watch. The Ho Chi Minh City player has been progressing slowly but steadily, and his unexpected run to the second round of the Vietnam Open 2026 showed he can compete with higher-ranked opponents.
A 43-Year-Old Legend Keeps Rewriting the Script
Nguyen Tien Minh remains the wild card of the draw. At 43, his physical condition is clearly his main obstacle — he once reached fifth in the world — but his talent and experience remain remarkable. At the Ho Chi Minh City Sports Festival in April, he won the men’s singles gold medal after Hai Dang was forced out of the final with an injury. Even if the victory came somewhat easily, reaching the final at 43 was described as a remarkable achievement.
The field also includes a wave of young talent: Tran Hoang Kha of Ho Chi Minh City (born 2006), Nguyen Tat Duy Loi of Lam Dong (born 2008) and Tran Quoc Khanh of Bac Ninh (born 2006). None has yet produced standout international results, but vietnam.vn expects them to bring youthful energy, boldness and exciting surprises.
Thuy Linh Stands Alone in Women’s Singles
If the men’s draw promises a scrap, the women’s singles looks like a coronation. Nguyen Thuy Linh of Dong Nai, ranked 27th in the world, is not only Vietnam’s best female badminton player but also a regular on the international circuit at the highest level. Her top-level experience and exceptional technical mastery place her above her domestic rivals, vietnam.vn reported.
Her most notable challenger is likely Vu Thi Trang of Ho Chi Minh City, currently ranked 93rd in the world. A former emblematic figure of Vietnamese women’s badminton, Vu Thi Trang has vast experience and a highly technical playing style, but at 34 she can no longer maintain the physical level of her peak.
Among the young women, the two most promising are Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen of Dong Nai (born 2011) and Bui Bich Phuong of Hanoi (born 2007). The fact that Thu Huyen, at just 15, gets to compete in the country’s biggest arena testifies to remarkable developmental potential. They will not find it easy to spring surprises on more experienced opponents, but they can still deliver exciting matches and lay the groundwork for the next generation of Vietnamese badminton.
What the 2026 Games Will Decide
Beyond the medals, the Games serve a specific purpose for Vietnamese sport: evaluating training and coaching, discovering new talent and selecting the next generation of athletes for the country, according to vietnam.vn.
The schedule is already set. Muay Thai competition begins Oct. 20, with an official opening event on Oct. 22. The main competition runs Nov. 14 to Dec. 12, 2026, though some events start earlier. The Games’ opening ceremony is scheduled for the evening of Nov. 21 at Saigon’s waterfront park in Ho Chi Minh City, and the closing ceremony on Dec. 12 at Phu Tho Gymnasium.
Questions Fans Are Asking About the Badminton Draw
Can anyone actually beat Nguyen Hai Dang in men’s singles? On world rankings, no — he sits 132 places above his nearest domestic rival, Le Duc Phat. But vietnam.vn notes that national results are often unpredictable, and Duc Phat has a long rivalry with the champion, while 43-year-old Nguyen Tien Minh just proved he can still win a major domestic title in April.
Why is a 15-year-old competing at the National Games? Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen, born in 2011 and from Dong Nai, is one of the two most promising young women in the draw. vietnam.vn says her presence in the country’s biggest arena shows remarkable developmental potential in Vietnamese badminton.
When and where do the badminton events take place? The main competition window runs Nov. 14 to Dec. 12, 2026, centered in Ho Chi Minh City, which hosts 31 of the 34 competition sites; the opening ceremony is Nov. 21 at Saigon’s waterfront park and the closing ceremony Dec. 12 at Phu Tho Gymnasium.
The open question hanging over the draw is whether Hai Dang’s ranking advantage will hold on home soil — or whether one of the veterans, the in-form Duc Phat, or a fearless teenager will produce the upset that vietnam.vn says domestic badminton so often delivers. The first shuttles fly when the main competition begins Nov. 14, 2026.
