Volleyball village debates who will replace Bich Tuyen

Bích Tuyền - Ảnh 1. — Hoang Thi Kieu Trinh will definitely replace Bich Tuyen in the upcoming world tournament - Photo: VOLLEYBALL MAGAZINE

Controversy over who will replace Bich Tuyen

On the afternoon of August 19, the Vietnamese volleyball community received shocking news when superstar Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen withdrew from the Vietnamese women's team and will not participate in the World Championship, which will take place from August 22.

Besides the controversy about the real reason behind Bich Tuyen's decision, the volleyball community is also excited about the topic "who will replace Bich Tuyen?".

At the Women's Volleyball World Championship, Vietnam was not called up to replace Bich Tuyen because they had registered a list of 14 athletes. That means the team will only go to the tournament with 13 athletes, of which the only opposing player is Hoang Thi Kieu Trinh.

Kieu Trinh is also the name that Vietnamese fans most strongly support to replace Bich Tuyen in the future.

This is obvious at the upcoming world championship, as Kieu Trinh is currently the only real setter on the team. But further, volleyball fans are debating who will replace Bich Tuyen as the team's leader, if she continues to be absent from the SEA Games and other international tournaments.

It is worth noting that in the historic victory against Thailand at SEA V.League 2025, Bich Tuyen scored 45 points throughout the match, "carrying" half of the team's points.

Kieu Trinh, Thanh Thuy or Kim Thanh?

Not only Vietnamese fans, but also Thai volleyball forums are actively debating this topic.

A Kokkrat fan commented on the Volleyball Thailand fanpage: "Every team needs at least 2 OPs (opposite setters), I think the Vietnam team coach will switch Thanh Thuy to this role. She is still very strong."

This comment received a lot of support from other Thai fans. Generally, Thai fans are not very knowledgeable about Vietnamese volleyball, so it is understandable that they chose Thanh Thuy - the most prominent player in the past decade.

Bích Tuyền - Ảnh 2. — Thanh Thuy is expected to regain her peak form - Photo: TVA

On the contrary, Vietnamese fans gave most of their support to Kieu Trinh - who has not had much room to perform since Bich Tuyen returned to the team in 2024.

Kieu Trinh is only 24 years old this year, even 1 year younger than Bich Tuyen. The girl from Quang Binh has been playing for the Vietnamese national team since 2019, before exploding in 2023.

Kieu Trinh received special praise in the bronze medal match against Japan at the 2023 Asian Championship. Despite losing 2-3, the Vietnamese team was highly appreciated in this match.

Thanh Thuy was the top scorer for the team against Japan - with 22 points, followed by Kieu Trinh - 19 points.

Right after Bich Tuyen left the national team, Kieu Trinh was brought back into the team by coach Tuan Kiet. The girl wearing the Signal Corps shirt played extremely well in the victory over Kenya on the evening of August 19, which was also the team's last friendly match before leaving for Thailand to attend the world tournament.

Besides Kieu Trinh, Dang Thi Kim Thanh is also a name that is mentioned a lot. The Long An native is 1 year older than Bich Tuyen, famous for her beauty that is considered a "beauty queen" and has been shining since 2018-2019.

At the age of 24, Kim Thanh suddenly announced his retirement, but then returned last season and still showed his class. However, Kim Thanh's return to the team was only supported by fans.

Many Thai fans when discussing this topic also mentioned Vi Thi Nhu Quynh or Nguyen Thi Uyen - key attackers similar to Thanh Thuy, both have impressive attacking abilities.

With impressive performances at the U21 World Championship, some young setters such as Thuy Linh and Bich Hue were also mentioned. Fans expect these U21 stars to soon be called up to the national team.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lang-bong-chuyen-tranh-cai-ai-thay-bich-tuyen-20250820071849001.htm