From Hanoi T&T to CAND - T&T: Mr. Hien's 18-year table tennis journey

When talking about Mr. Do Quang Hien, Vietnamese sports fans always think of a football investor who has been investing in football for 20 years, but not many people know that he has also invested in table tennis for 18 years.

If T&T Hanoi Football Club was established in 2006 (in 2016, the name was changed to Hanoi - the most successful club in the history of Vietnamese professional football), then one year later, Mr. Hien, as Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of T&T Group, established Hanoi T&T Table Tennis Club in October 2007 with 100% investment capital from T&T Group.

SEA Games gold medal after 26 years

With modern equipment as well as constant investment and innovation to suit the general development trend, after nearly 20 years of operation with the criteria of developing and training professional athletes, Hanoi T&T Table Tennis Club has trained names such as Tran Tuan Quynh, Phan Huy Hoang, Nguyen Ngoc Tu, Dinh Anh Hoang, Le Dinh Duc, Tran Mai Ngoc... champions of Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

Dinh Anh Hoang - Tran Mai Ngoc excellently won the gold medal in table tennis at the 2023 SEA Games in mixed doubles.

Most notably, at the 2023 SEA Games, Dinh Anh Hoang and Tran Mai Ngoc excellently brought Vietnamese table tennis the SEA Games mixed doubles gold medal after 26 years of waiting, since Vu Manh Cuong and Ngo Thu Thuy won at the 1997 SEA Games.

Behind this precious gold medal is the figure of coach Vu Manh Cuong and the figure of Mr. Hien.

In fact, Vu Manh Cuong is a big name in Vietnamese table tennis. He is not only a 7-time Vietnamese champion but also the player who brought Vietnamese table tennis 3 SEA Games gold medals, including two gold medals in men's singles (1995, 2001) and one gold medal in mixed doubles (1997).

In 2008, while holding the position of head of the department and head coach of the table tennis team of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hai Duong , Cuong surprised everyone when he transferred to become coach of the Hanoi T&T Table Tennis Club. Mai Ngoc and Anh Hoang are two talents discovered and trained by Manh Cuong.

Tran Mai Ngoc was born in 2004. Her father passed away when she was 2 years old, and her mother worked as a garment worker. Coach Vu Manh Cuong discovered her and convinced her family to let her move to Hanoi to join Hanoi T&T when she was 9 years old. Eight years later, Mai Ngoc shined.

At the national championship, Mai Ngoc successively surpassed two Vietnamese icons, Mai Hoang My Trang and Phan Hoang Tuong Giang, to win the national championship. At the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam, Mai Ngoc won 2 bronze medals in the women's doubles and women's team. At the 32nd SEA Games, Mai Ngoc changed the color of her medal from bronze to gold.

Meanwhile, Dinh Anh Hoang, 23 years old this year, the team's bright star is also a discovery of the Hanoi T&T training center. Anh Hoang and Mai Ngoc won the mixed doubles gold medal at the 2023 SEA Games and Anh Hoang also won the national men's singles championship in 2025.

Mr. Hien awarded Mai Ngoc and Anh Hoang 250 million VND each after winning the gold medal at the 2023 SEA Games.

It can be seen that Hanoi T&T's investment and development strategy for table tennis is very similar to football, which is to discover and train talented young athletes, make use of talents across the country, and at the same time "hunt" for good managers and highly qualified coaches.

The word "vision" goes with the word "heart"

When looking back at the journey of formation and development of Hanoi T&T Table Tennis Club and People's Public Security - T&T, it is difficult to only talk about "scope" and ignore the "heart" of Mr. Hien. It is that foundation that has created stories of overcoming fate, of which Le Dinh Duc is a typical example.

The 2025 National Men's Team Gold Medal of CAND - T&T bears the mark of Dinh Duc. Not only because of the important victories, but also because of the journey he took to conquer himself, overcoming adversity that seemed to have ended his sports career 12 years ago.

Duc was born in 1999 in Dak Nong, discovered by coach Manh Cuong in 2009 and brought to Hanoi T&T to train. But in 2013, Duc suddenly lost his mobility, his limbs atrophied. The subsequent diagnosis showed that he had idiopathic ankylosing spondylitis - a disease that could leave him disabled if not treated promptly.

Tennis player Le Dinh Duc overcame the harsh challenges of his life thanks to the help of Mr. Hien.

Upon receiving the report from Coach Manh Cuong, Mr. Hien made a decisive decision to treat Duc at all costs. Even though he may no longer be able to compete, he still hopes Duc will have the opportunity to return to normal life.

From there began a long and arduous journey. Duc worked hard every day to regain his mobility. The Hanoi T&T team was always there to support him, and behind them was the full spiritual and financial backing of his “spiritual father” Do Quang Hien.

Thanks to that perseverance, Duc gradually recovered and grew stronger. And today, when contributing to the 2025 national men's team gold medal, Duc sent the most beautiful gratitude to his teachers, teammates, leaders and most of all, Mr. Hien - who believed in him even in the most fragile moment of his life.

New position of CAND - T&T table tennis

The CAND - T&T Table Tennis Club was established on May 23, 2024 after the Vietnam CAND Sports Association and T&T Group signed a memorandum of understanding on the selection and training of table tennis athletes to compete for the CAND force.

Immediately after that, CAND - T&T Club participated in the 2024 National Table Tennis Championship in Nha Trang. Although only aiming to win 1 gold medal, 1 silver medal, 1 bronze medal, the whole team excelled in exceeding the target by winning 2 gold medals and 3 silver medals.

At the 2025 National Table Tennis Championship, if in previous years, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were two forces fiercely competing for the top spot in the medal table, this year, the CAND - T&T delegation replaced Hanoi's position to compete equally with Ho Chi Minh City.

In the 7 sets of medals of the tournament, the CAND - T&T and Ho Chi Minh City delegations shared 6 gold medals. Of which, CAND - T&T won the championship in 3 categories: men's team, men's doubles, men's singles; Ho Chi Minh City won the championship in 3 categories: women's team, women's doubles and mixed doubles. The remaining gold medal in women's singles belonged to Hanoi.

Not only focusing on top achievements, CAND - T&T table tennis also invests in the lower levels. That is the reason why at the 2024 national youth, youth and children's tournament, CAND - T&T excellently won the first place overall with 13 gold medals, 7 silver and 10 bronze medals even though the target was only 8 gold medals. The first place overall achievement was repeated in 2025.

The birth of the CAND - T&T Table Tennis Team is a typical success of the sports socialization model.

As the person who has been with Hanoi T&T Club the longest and most closely since 2008 and then CAND - T&T Club since May 2024 until now, Coach Vu Manh Cuong said that it is the attention of the leaders of CAND as well as T&T Group and the solidarity and progress between the coaching staff and athletes between the CAND and Hanoi T&T Clubs that has created a double strength for the cooperation of the two clubs with the new name CAND - T&T Table Tennis Club.

A typical example of the success of this cooperation is the case of 15-year-old CAND tennis player Nguyen Van Tuan Anh. Through training from Hanoi T&T coaches, Tuan Anh has made remarkable progress when in 2025 he won the men's doubles championship of the Southeast Asian youth tournament and won 3 gold medals in men's singles, men's doubles and men's team at the Vietnam youth, youth and children's championship.

The success of Hanoi T&T and CAND - T&T table tennis, besides "heart" and "vision", is also created from another important factor: financial resources that are invested systematically and persistently.

After the impressive achievement at the 2025 National Championship, T&T Group awarded 1.26 billion VND to the CAND - T&T Club. This is not the first time this unit has given large bonuses to table tennis, even among the highest in the country for this sport.

On August 1, 2024, T&T Group also awarded nearly 1.5 billion VND to coaches and athletes of the CAND - T&T Club for their outstanding achievements at national tournaments in 2024. Previously, at the 2023 SEA Games, the group continued to award 1.15 billion VND to the Vietnamese table tennis team after winning 1 gold, 1 silver and 4 bronze medals.

These figures show a reality: Professional sports in general and table tennis in particular can hardly develop without a strong financial foundation. Finance is a necessary condition, creating motivation and environment for athletes to progress, but money alone is not enough to create sustainable success.

CAND - T&T table tennis team received awards after achievements at the 2025 national table tennis tournament.

Just like with football, Mr. Hien came to table tennis not only with passion but also with persistent investment from zero. Nearly 20 years of companionship has brought CAND - T&T Club to the top three strongest teams in the country, on par with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, while maintaining the leading position in youth tournaments and regularly providing many key players for the national team.

Mr. Hien once shared that boldly sending athletes to China - the country with the world's number 1 table tennis - for training has created a great step forward for the club's force. From that foundation, Dinh Anh Hoang made a historic mark at the 2025 National Championship when he defeated his senior Nguyen Anh Tu (Hanoi) with a score of 4-1 in the men's singles final, ending his opponent's domination and winning the championship for the first time.

Along with Anh Hoang, CAND - T&T also contributed two players Le Dinh Duc and Tran Mai Ngoc to the Vietnamese table tennis team at SEA Games 2025. The remaining seven players come from three strong teams: Hai Phong (3 athletes), Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (each team has 2 athletes).

It can be said that Mr. Hien is the one who created a fierce and fair competitive environment among the top table tennis centers in the country. His presence, with a methodical approach and long-term vision, has contributed significantly to the progress of Vietnamese table tennis in the Southeast Asian arena.

Mr. Hien also affirmed that he will continue to accompany and invest in the CAND - T&T Club, with the desire to contribute more and more to the development of Vietnamese table tennis. Over the years, he has always maintained a consistent viewpoint in any field, the ultimate goal is still to contribute to raising the level of national sports.

Source: https://znews.vn/tu-ha-noi-tt-den-cand-tt-hanh-trinh-18-nam-bong-ban-cua-bau-hien-post1608903.html