Until now, Vietnamese fans still remember the miracle of winning the men's team table tennis championship that the great players Le Van Tiet, Mai Van Hoa and Tran Canh Duoc won at the 1958 Tokyo ASIAD. It was also the first gold medal in the history of Vietnamese sports participating in the Asian Games.
Famous player Le Van Tiet ranked 6th in men's singles in the world in 1958 - Photo archive
With the same lineup (only replacing Tran Canh Duoc with Tran Van Lieu), the South Vietnam table tennis team one year later reached the semi-finals of the 1959 World Championship held in Dortmund - West Germany.
Winning all 10 teams in the group, including the 6-time world champion Czechoslovakia, the Southern team entered the semi-finals to meet the reigning world champion Japan. Leading the opponent 3-1, but the vulnerability of the number 3 player made the team lose 3-5, having to accept the position of tied for third place in the world that year.
Two former famous players Le Van Tiet (second, from left) and Le Van Inh (fourth, from left) - Photo: NQ-NVCC
Recalling the past achievements, we can see that Vietnamese table tennis once had a very prestigious position on the world table tennis map more than half a century ago. One of the three main characters who brought about that series of miracles, player Le Van Tiet, not long after, came back to defeat player Murakami (the reigning Japanese champion) at the French Open and was honored by the Japanese press as "the wonder of world table tennis".
Born in 1939 in Saigon, Mr. Le Van Tiet is considered the best player in the history of Vietnamese table tennis, the first and only Vietnamese to date ranked No. 6 in the world in men's singles. He was the first person to create a counter-attack style of play, opening a new school of tactics (previously there were only two schools: attack or block for defense) which later became the technical foundation of many famous players.
Mr. Le Van Tiet at a sports exchange program - Photo: Document
After 1975, Le Van Tiet continued to play table tennis, working as a coach for the Tan Binh District team in Ho Chi Minh City until 1986. At the age of "thất thập cổ lai hy", former famous player Le Van Tiet never left his greatest passion in life. He attended the big event of the 2015 Asia- Pacific Senior Table Tennis Tournament, picked up his racket to interact with young athletes who were the same age as his children and grandchildren, spent time teaching table tennis to children or writing books to pass on table tennis techniques to future generations.
That man breathed his last on the morning of June 2, leaving behind endless sorrow in the hearts of sports lovers in the country. International referee Nguyen Tien Hung wrote on his personal page: "We lost a man, but the history of Vietnamese table tennis did not lose him. His achievements, his steps on the court, his lightning-fast counterattacks, and his indomitable spirit will forever be a vivid lesson for the young athletes of today and tomorrow. Farewell to the "monument" Le Van Tiet. His family and many Vietnamese table tennis lovers will always remember him, a flame of passion, of pride and of the belief that we can reach out to the world."
Source: https://nld.com.vn/ky-quan-bong-ban-the-gioi-le-van-tiet-roi-coi-tam-196250602171544448.htm
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