Vu Thi Trang: 'Bui Bich Phuong played very well to win against the opposing pair from Thailand and the Philippines'

Despite arriving at the SEA Games without the best preparation, Vu Thi Trang and Bui Bich Phuong pulled off a surprise victory.

Bui Bich Phuong (right) and Vu Thi Trang unexpectedly won a bronze medal in their first time paired up - Photo: QUY LUONG

At noon on December 13th, Vu Thi Trang and Bui Bich Phuong entered the semi-finals of the women's doubles badminton event at the 33rd SEA Games. Earlier in the quarter-finals, they unexpectedly defeated the pair Mary Destiny Untal and Andrea Princess Hernandez of the Philippines.

By advancing to the next round, the Vietnamese pair are guaranteed a medal because the rule states that the two losing teams in the semi-finals will share the bronze medal.

This result was also almost certain for Vu Thi Trang and Bui Bich Phuong, as they had to face the strong Indonesian pair of Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Meilysa Trias Puspitasari. As predicted, the two Vietnamese players suffered a decisive defeat with scores of 10-21 and 9-21.

Nevertheless, winning a bronze medal in badminton at the 33rd SEA Games was a remarkable achievement for the Vietnamese women's doubles team. This wasn't an event where they had a chance to compete. It's even more noteworthy considering that Vu Thi Trang and Bui Bich Phuong's forte is singles.

They came to the SEA Games as a makeshift women's doubles team. Therefore, this bronze medal can be considered historic for them.

Sharing her thoughts after winning the unexpected medal, Vu Thi Trang said: "Today we faced very strong opponents; they practiced very professionally, while we only recently started pairing up."

I myself play more singles, so I found it quite difficult playing doubles. My sister and I tried our best to perform well, but our coordination wasn't very good because we had little time to practice.

I must say I'm extremely happy and delighted. In other events, we tried our best, but the opponents were too strong. In this women's doubles event, I was quite lucky that Bui Bich Phuong played so well and energetically to defeat the Thai and Philippine pair, securing the bronze medal."

Meanwhile, 18-year-old tennis player Bui Bich Phuong said: "When you get to play on such a big stage, every opponent is very strong. I came here determined to fight my hardest."

"But honestly, the opponents were too strong today, and to be frank, we had no hope at all. Nevertheless, it's an honor to win a medal in our first SEA Games appearance."

This is not only a historic achievement for the two players, but also the only medal for Vietnamese badminton at this tournament.

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DUC KHUE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vu-thi-trang-bui-bich-phuong-danh-rat-hay-de-thang-cap-doi-doi-thu-thai-lan-philippines-2025121315272719.htm