Tennis player Tran Duc Phong: "The Dan Tri newspaper pickleball tournament is very meaningful and interesting"

Pickleball player Phong Coca is excited before the Dan Tri pickleball tournament

Tran Duc Phong (born in 1991), known by many people by the nickname "Phong Coca", is currently a player who is considered to have a "reputation" in the sport of pickleball thanks to his strength in attacks and his ability to handle the ball with sophistication and technique at the net.

Players can register to participate in the Pickleball tournament "Dan Tri 20 years - Bright new day" at https://dantri.com.vn/pickleball20nam/dangky

Duc Phong is currently an athlete of the People's Police Pickleball Club (under the People's Police Sports Association) and he will join athlete Nguyen Tuan Minh in the Open men's doubles event of the pickleball tournament "Dan Tri 20 years - Bright new days".

Tay vợt Trần Đức Phong: Giải pickleball báo Dân trí rất ý nghĩa và thú vị - 1 — Tran Duc Phong quickly became a famous pickleball player even though he has only been competing for the past 2 years (Photo: NVCC).

Before the tournament, Duc Phong had an interesting conversation with Dan Tri reporter.

To participate in the Open men's doubles, you are clearly a professional athlete even though pickleball is a new sport introduced to Vietnam in the last 2 years?

- I started playing badminton at the age of 6 and have been a member of the Hanoi badminton team since I was a child. I won gold medals in all national badminton tournaments, and in 2007 I became the youngest badminton grandmaster in Vietnam.

However, after more than 20 years of playing professional badminton, it was not until September 2023 that I officially switched to playing pickleball. Thanks to my existing foundation in badminton, I had no difficulty playing this new sport.

So I also boldly registered for the Open men's doubles event when participating in the pickleball tournament organized by Dan Tri . To be frank, my goal is to win the gold medal of the tournament, or at least stand on the podium.

To be able to win a medal in this tournament, can you reveal your daily training plan?

- Even if I don't participate in a tournament, I play pickleball every day, I feel like I'm addicted to it. I can play morning, noon, afternoon, and evening whenever I have free time. Actually, those who haven't played pickleball may think that this sport is boring, easy to fall asleep, and the technique is quite simple.

But once they bring the racket to the field, many people become addicted to this sport like me. In my opinion, there is no sport that brings the community together like pickleball, when beginners can enter the field to compete with each other in a very happy and refreshing way.

Pickleball can help people burn energy and exercise because it does not require too difficult techniques like table tennis, badminton or tennis. In particular, family members can also play together, bringing great joy on weekends.

You must have participated in many pickleball tournaments, so what do you think about the pickleball tournament organized by Dan Tri newspaper and Vietnam Pickleball Sports Forum Joint Stock Company (PICKFAIR)?

- I understand that this is the first time Dan Tri newspaper has coordinated with PICKFAIR to organize a pickleball tournament, but the communication and promotion of the tournament is very professional and methodical.

The tournament is very rich in content with up to 8 competitions, including 6 for amateur athletes with different levels and 2 for professional athletes like us, creating many useful playgrounds for both beginners and professional athletes.

Tay vợt Trần Đức Phong: Giải pickleball báo Dân trí rất ý nghĩa và thú vị - 3 — Competition content and attractive prize structure of the pickleball tournament "Dan Tri 20 years - Bright new day".

The prize structure as well as the tournament regulations are very transparent, creating attraction for everyone to participate. But what impressed me most was the fee collected from athletes registering to participate in the tournament. The Organizing Committee did not use that money to cover the costs of the tournament but used it all to support the construction of 5 charity houses for people in difficult circumstances in Cao Bang province.

Tay vợt Trần Đức Phong: Giải pickleball báo Dân trí rất ý nghĩa và thú vị - 4 — Tran Duc Phong aims to stand on the podium at the pickleball tournament "Dan Tri 20 years - Bright new day" (Photo: NVCC).

This is truly a very humane and meaningful work that few other tournaments can do. That is why I am very excited to call on my friends to register to participate in the tournament, contributing to the success of the humane goal that Dan Tri newspaper has set.

Pickleball tournament "Dan Tri 20 years - Bright new day" to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Dan Tri electronic newspaper, are you a close reader of the newspaper every day?

- Of course, Dan Tri is one of my daily spiritual foods. I appreciate Dan Tri newspaper for its quick current information on all areas of life, as well as its high reliability.

There is information that social networks post that people still doubt, but once that information is posted by Dan Tri , it is considered a clear verification and authentication.

Dan Tri is also a very humane and charitable newspaper, with charitable activities that have created a great resonance as well as trust from everyone.

That is why I, like everyone else, would like to send my best wishes to the leadership, reporters and editors of Dan Tri newspaper for good health and continued success in the next stage after 20 years of establishment and development.