Le Duc Phat follows in the footsteps of his senior Tien Minh

It is expected that today (April 30) or at the latest tomorrow, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will announce the official list of badminton athletes participating in the Paris Olympics in July.

With a world ranking of 24 and a Paris Olympic qualifying round ranking of 17, Vietnam's No. 1 female tennis player Nguyen Thuy Linh has secured a ticket to the Olympics for the second time in her career in the women's singles event. Meanwhile, with a world ranking of 74 and a Paris Olympic qualifying round ranking of 34, tennis player Le Duc Phat is still anxiously waiting for the official announcement of the results for the men's singles event. "The men's singles event has a total of 38 places, of which 34 are for qualifying round points and 4 are special places. The number of qualifying round slots then increased by 1 (ie from 1st to 35th), increasing the chances for Le Duc Phat. However, everything must wait for an official announcement because it is not possible to rule out a final change in the qualifying round rankings," said Mr. Khoa Trung Kien, in charge of the badminton department of the Department of Sports and Physical Training.

Le Duc Phat waiting for ticket to Olympics

Aiming to follow in the footsteps of his senior Nguyen Tien Minh (who made history in Vietnamese sports by participating in 4 consecutive Olympics), Le Duc Phat strives to compete internationally to accumulate points. With a clear strategy, the tennis player from the Army unit combines international training trips with competing in tournaments of suitable levels and easy to earn points. He once went to the badminton academy of former world No. 1 Peter Gade in Denmark to receive guidance and experience from this badminton icon. In addition, Le Duc Phat went all the way to Africa to participate in the Uganda international tournament and won the men's singles championship, accumulating 4,000 points. Thanks to these points, he made a leap forward in the world badminton rankings and achieved his current position.

Within 1 year, Le Duc Phat advanced 93 places, from being ranked outside the world's top 160 to the top 80. That was the result of this player's tireless efforts, especially when there was a time when he thought he would have to give up due to injury.

While waiting for the official ticket for his first Olympic appearance, Le Duc Phat and the Vietnamese badminton team are practicing in Tu Son ( Bac Ninh ). If he gets a ticket to the Paris Olympics, this Army player who has just been promoted to lieutenant will participate in several international tournaments to "warm up" and prepare best for the first Olympics of his career.

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