Thuy Linh narrowly defeated Indonesian tennis player at Swiss tournament

Vietnam's number one badminton player Nguyen Thuy Linh defeated Ester Wardoyo 21-16, 19-21, 21-19 after 76 minutes in the first round of the 2024 Swiss Open international badminton tournament this morning, March 21.

After two tournaments at the Super 750 and 1,000 levels in France and England, Thuy Linh chose the tournament in Switzerland at the Super 300 level. This tournament is equivalent to the German Open, where she reached the final. Thuy Linh's first opponent is Wardoyo, a 20-year-old Indonesian currently ranked 37th in the world . The Vietnamese player lost to Wardoyo 1-2 at the 32nd SEA Games.

The two players started the match confidently, often exchanging blows and fighting for each point at 3-3, 7-7, before Thuy Linh accelerated to lead 11-8. After the break, the Vietnamese player continued to have drop shots and then hit balls behind to increase the gap to 13-9, 16-10, then won 21-16.

Tennis player Nguyen Thuy Linh. Photo: Badminton Photo — Tennis player Nguyen Thuy Linh. Photo: *Badminton Photo*

Thuy Linh continued to play steadily at the beginning of set 2, leading 5-3 then 9-6, 13-11. But then, the Phu Tho player's bad shots helped Wardoyo equalize 14-14 then 18-18. The Indonesian player was in high spirits, handling the net well to lead 20-18. Linh regained a point at 19-20 but with an accurate smash, before Wardoyo won 21-19, bringing the match into set 3.

In this match, Thuy Linh continued to have American tennis player Laurent Lam as her assistant. After consulting, receiving professional advice from her friend and stabilizing her spirit, Thuy Linh made an impressive comeback in set 3. She led 4-1 then 9-6, 12-10, 18-14. Wardoyo tried to move quickly to save the shuttlecock, shortening the gap to 16-18 and then equalizing 19-19. But a shot out of bounds by Wardoyo helped Thuy Linh lead 20-19. After that, the Vietnamese tennis player easily finished, closing the set at 21-19 and winning 2-1 overall.

In the round of 16, Thuy Linh will meet another Indonesian player - Gregoria Mariska Tunjung. Tunjung is currently ranked 8th in the world, and is the second seed of the tournament. In terms of ranking, Thuy Linh is far behind her opponent, but she still has confidence in winning because she defeated Tunjung 2-0 at the 2023 China Open.

Thuy Linh is currently ranked 20th in the world, and 15th on the 2024 Olympic qualifying points table. Therefore, she chose tournaments in Europe to maintain her ranking and secure a place at the Paris Olympics this summer. After the Swiss tournament, Thuy Linh will continue playing in the Spanish Open, then return home to rest before playing another tournament in China.

By mid-April 2024, the Badminton World Federation will announce the list of players participating in the 2024 Olympics. The goal of Vietnamese players is to play well in each tournament, accumulate points to be in the Olympic seed group, to facilitate the draw.

Duc Dong

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