Vu Thi Trang (right) remains resilient at the age of 33 and unexpectedly brought home a medal for Vietnamese badminton at the SEA Games - Photo: QUY LUONG
On December 13th, Vu Thi Trang and her younger teammate Bui Bich Phuong won the bronze medal in women's doubles badminton for Vietnam at the 33rd SEA Games. This result was completely unexpected by many people.
A year of unexpected success
In recent years, Vu Thi Trang has shown signs of declining performance due to age. Born in 1992, the player from Ho Chi Minh City is over 30, and it's difficult to expect much from her in terms of achievements.
But one thing to admire about Vu Thi Trang is her perseverance. While she doesn't have many impressive achievements, fans still see her regularly participating in tournaments. As more international badminton tournaments are held in Vietnam, Vu Thi Trang's appearances domestically have also increased.
Besides the Vietnam Open, the highest-level tournament held domestically, this athlete also actively participates in lower-level competitions such as the Vietnam International Challenge and the Vietnam International Series. Interestingly, even though she no longer possesses the same physical fitness and technical agility, Vu Thi Trang still surprises with her emotional performances at times.
In late October and early November, she won two consecutive Vietnam International Challenge tournaments, both held in Bac Ninh . It has probably been a long time since fans have seen Vu Thi Trang dominate like this in an international competition.
Winning two consecutive championships is still very difficult, especially since it requires an extremely good physical condition. This shows just how much effort and perseverance Vu Thi Trang has put in.
But her success this year didn't stop there. At 33, she remains the top female tennis player in the country. Therefore, Trang was selected to participate in the 33rd SEA Games, and surprisingly won a bronze medal in an event outside her specialty.
The "unusual" medal
At the SEA Games in Thailand, Vu Thi Trang competed in three events. In the women's team and singles events, she was able to compete in her strongest event, singles. Naturally, the Vietnamese team had no chance against stronger badminton teams from Malaysia, Thailand, and others.
In the women's singles event, Vu Thi Trang was also unable to spring a surprise against the world- class stars. Meanwhile, her younger teammate Nguyen Thuy Linh, who was expected to win a medal, lost in her first singles match and was eliminated.
The Vietnamese players then suffered a series of defeats, leaving their medal aspirations in jeopardy. But then, hope emerged from the most unexpected source.
Despite having to compete outside her usual area of expertise, Vu Thi Trang achieved unexpected success - Photo: THANH DINH
In the women's doubles event, Vu Thi Trang was paired with young player Bui Bich Phuong, who is also a singles player. This was a truly "makeshift" pair as both players played outside their preferred positions. Even before the SEA Games, the two sisters didn't have much time to practice together, so this wasn't an event where expectations were high.
Yet, in a scenario nobody could have predicted, the "patchwork" pair of Vu Thi Trang and Bui Bich Phuong defeated the third seed from Thailand, Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn and Sukitta Suwachai, in the round of 16 with an unstoppable, explosive playing style. That day, Vu Thi Trang even had to play singles first, yet she still had the energy to help her younger teammates create a miracle.
Not stopping there, they went on to defeat the Philippine pair Mary Destiny Untal and Andrea Princess Hernandez in the quarterfinals to secure a place in the semifinals. Although they later lost to the very strong Indonesian pair Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Meilysa Trias Puspitasari, they still won the bronze medal because the SEA Games regulations do not have a third-place match.
A monument to Vietnamese badminton.
Vu Thi Trang truly deserves to be considered a legend of Vietnamese badminton - Photo: THANH DINH
This unexpected medal has added to Vu Thi Trang's impressive collection of achievements. Often referred to as "Tien Minh's wife," she has proven her capabilities through her own abilities.
This is Vu Thi Trang's fourth SEA Games bronze medal in her career, an achievement not easily attained by Vietnamese female athletes. Previously, she was also the highest-ranked badminton player in Vietnamese history, reaching world number 34.
This feat was later surpassed by Nguyen Thuy Linh. But that couldn't overshadow Vu Thi Trang's illustrious career. The bronze medal at the 33rd SEA Games further strongly affirmed that she is truly a legend of Vietnamese badminton.
The beautiful love story of Tien Minh and Vu Thi Trang
The relationship between two legendary athletes, Nguyen Tien Minh and Vu Thi Trang, is considered one of the most beautiful love stories in Vietnamese sports . Playing the same sport and frequently accompanying each other in competitions, they fell in love and got married in 2016.
At one point, Tien Minh was the number one men's singles player in Vietnam, while his wife was the number one women's singles player. Images of them frequently encouraging each other when competing far from home touched many hearts.
For Vu Thi Trang to be able to compete in this year's SEA Games, Tien Minh also had to make sacrifices. The former number one female badminton player in Vietnam shared: "At my age, 33, being able to compete is a great joy. The preparation process was also difficult, involving a lot of training, being away from my husband and family, in short, it was a trade-off. Therefore, I hope that sacrifice will yield results, and I'm truly fortunate to have won a bronze medal."
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vu-thi-trang-tinh-yeu-no-luc-va-huy-chuong-quy-gia-o-sea-games-33-20251214111001297.htm
Comment (0)