Vietnamese badminton icon Nguyen Tien Minh is persistent at the age of 42

Tien Minh - an admirable example

At the international badminton tournament taking place in Singapore, Tien Minh is currently ranked 338th in the world, so he has to compete from the qualifying round of the men's singles. He has had two consecutive victories against Shawn Hiu (Malaysia) and Lokesh Babu Ramesh (India) to qualify for the main round of the men's singles. Once ranked 5th in the world with the peak of a bronze medal at the 2015 World Championship and going down in the history of Vietnamese sports as the only athlete to participate in the Olympics 4 times, the HCM City player is considered a monument of Vietnamese badminton because of his "unprecedented" achievement of 21 national championships.

Nguyen Tien Minh still competes in badminton tournaments domestically and internationally.

In the past two years, age has weighed heavily on Tien Minh's shoulders, so he has been surpassed by junior players such as Le Duc Phat and Nguyen Hai Dang. There was a time when this player retired to both coaching and competing. Although no longer at the peak of his performance, Tien Minh still causes many difficulties for his opponents every time they meet on the field. "His professional demeanor both during and outside of training and competition time has helped Tien Minh, over 40 years old, maintain stability for a long time. He is an example for many Vietnamese athletes to learn from and strive for," said Mr. Le Thanh Ha, General Secretary of the Vietnam Badminton Federation.

Speaking yesterday from Singapore, Tien Minh said he is no longer a coach for the Ho Chi Minh City badminton team but still competes for the team. "At this point, I compete primarily because of my passion and because I still feel I have the ability to contribute. I will continue to play in domestic tournaments and register to participate in suitable international tournaments," he said.

Currently ranked outside the world's top 300, Nguyen Tien Minh is not eligible to compete in high-level tournaments in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) system. Therefore, this player competes in lower-level tournaments such as Challenge and Open tournaments.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tuong-dai-cau-long-viet-nam-nguyen-tien-minh-ben-bi-o-tuoi-42-185250219221630748.htm