Surprise level of opponent Thuy Linh in Vietnam Open final

On the evening of September 14, Nguyen Thuy Linh will compete in the final match of the Vietnam Open Badminton Tournament for the fourth consecutive time.

Thuy Linh has the chance to win the Vietnam Open for the fourth consecutive time - Photo: DUC KHUE

The previous 3 times, Thuy Linh won the championship. But this year, huge challenges are waiting for Vietnam's "badminton hot girl".

Opponent once ranked 14th in the world

Thuy Linh will compete for the gold medal at this year’s Vietnam Open, Cai Yanyan, a tennis player from China. She is currently ranked 107th in the world in women’s singles, while Thuy Linh is ranked 18th. The gap between the two is clearly quite large, but there is a reason for Thuy Linh to not be complacent.

She won the bronze medal in women's singles at the 2017 World Junior Championships.

In 2019, at the age of 20, Cai Yanyan continued to win the bronze medal at the Asian Championships. That was also the year she climbed to 14th in the world, the highest ranking of her career so far. With her talent, she did not have much difficulty winning a ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (taking place in 2021).

Cai Yanyan was once ranked 14th in the world - Photo: DUC KHUE

Emerging at the same time as Cai Yanyan were names like Chen Yufei, He Bingjiao, Wang Zhiyi... Together they created a powerful Chinese badminton team, almost unrivaled.

But while her teammates were getting stronger and stronger, disaster struck Cai Yanyan. Returning from the Tokyo Olympics, she participated in a training session and suffered a serious ligament injury. Although it was not completely torn, Cai Yanyan still had to go under the knife for reconstructive surgery.

As a result, Cai Yanyan had to stop competing for nearly 3 years, severely affecting his career development. Meanwhile, his peers all entered the world's top 10 and had clear successes.

Sina newspaper had to painfully comment: "Cai Yanyan is not inferior to Chen Yu Fei, He Bingjiao or Wang Zhiyi. Even if she had not been injured, she could have helped the Chinese women's singles team win the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics."

Thuy Linh is determined to win

Thuy Linh is confident about her ability to win the title this year - Photo: DUC KHUE

Although she is no longer in the same form as before, Cai Yanyan is still a top-class tennis player. At this year's Vietnam Open, she was not seeded but created many impressive victories.

To reach the final, she defeated Ira Sharma, Shriyanshi Valishetty (seeded No. 5), Tanvi Sharma (seeded No. 3) and finally Ashmita Chaliha.

In all 4 past matches, Cai Yanyan's opponents were all Indians. Obviously, this is a very difficult opponent and a huge challenge for Thuy Linh.

In the past, the victory of the Vietnamese "badminton hot girl" in the final was not easy. But we have to face the fact that her opponents were still at a lower level. But this time, Cai Yanyan can really threaten Thuy Linh's title.

But the girl from Phu Tho still has the right to be confident. Although the world rankings are sometimes just for reference, they also partly reflect the current form of the two players.

In addition, Thuy Linh also received enthusiastic support from the home audience. Before the decisive final match, she shared: "Playing at home and receiving support from the audience is a huge advantage. I will try my best to compete well and dedicate myself to the audience.

I will try my best to have the best physical condition, mentality and feeling to win and bring home the championship."

DUC KHUE - THANH DINH

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bat-ngo-dang-cap-cua-doi-thu-thuy-linh-o-chung-ket-vietnam-open-20250914002742466.htm