Will Vietnamese table tennis have overseas Vietnamese athletes from Taiwan (China)?

Taiwanese (Chinese) athlete Wu I Chi, whose mother is Vietnamese, expressed her desire to become a naturalized citizen and compete as a Vietnamese athlete - Photo: HAI DUONG NEWSPAPER

In recent days, the Vietnamese table tennis world has been abuzz with the news that a female Taiwanese (Chinese) athlete whose mother is Vietnamese wants to obtain Vietnamese citizenship to compete for Vietnamese table tennis.

This female athlete is known to have been an athlete of the Taiwanese youth table tennis team. If she successfully naturalizes, she hopes to compete as a Vietnamese table tennis player, participate in international tournaments, accumulate points with the goal of winning a ticket to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

According to Tuoi Tre Online , this Taiwanese (Chinese) female athlete is Wu I Chi, aged U18. She has not yet appeared on the world rankings of female tennis players (including youth), so little is known about her.

Wu I Chi's most recent achievements are the women's singles gold medal and the women's team bronze medal at the 2024 Con Son Cup International Table Tennis Tournament, taking place from September 8 to 11, 2024 in Hai Duong province.

Wu I Chi’s mother is Vietnamese and her family has expressed their wish for her to become a Vietnamese citizen. If successful, she will be able to compete as a Vietnamese athlete. Her family will take care of the expenses for her to attend international competitions.

Talking to Tuoi Tre about the case of athlete Wu I Chi, VTTF General Secretary Nguyen Nam Hai shared: "We have received information and requests from athlete Wu I Chi's family about wanting him to acquire Vietnamese citizenship because his mother is Vietnamese. If he is successfully naturalized, he wishes to compete as a Vietnamese table tennis player. Currently, he is at the same level as current Vietnamese table tennis players.

The naturalization is done by the athlete and his family. If the athlete is successfully naturalized and wishes to compete in table tennis, VTTF will support the procedures to register Wu I Chi to compete."

However, Mr. Nguyen Nam Hai affirmed that naturalization as well as other legal issues depend on the athlete and his family. If the athlete is successfully naturalized, Wu I Chi will only be a Vietnamese table tennis player. Whether she will be called up to the national table tennis team and represent Vietnam in international competitions is another matter, depending on the athlete's ability.

According to regulations, the decision to call an athlete to the national team is under the authority of the Department of Physical Training and Sports .

In the program to develop key sports to prepare for the Olympics and Asian Games in the period from 2026-2046 of the sports industry, naturalizing especially talented athletes with Vietnamese blood is also one of the directions to develop high-performance sports. However, these athletes are assessed to have special, outstanding talents.

According to information from table tennis experts, athlete Wu I Chi has a level equivalent to current Vietnamese athletes, not outstanding.

Tuoitre.vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bong-ban-viet-nam-se-co-vdv-viet-kieu-tu-dai-loan-trung-quoc-20250304161159231.htm#content