Tien Minh - the icon of Vietnam Open

Tiến Minh - tượng đài của Vietnam Open - Ảnh 1. — Tien Minh has contributed to attracting audiences to Vietnam Open over the years - Photo: DUC KHUE

Rarely does a badminton qualifying round attract such a large crowd, especially when a match takes place between 2pm and 3pm on a weekday. Fans flocked to Nguyen Du Stadium (HCMC) just because that was when Tien Minh was competing.

For many years, the tennis player born in 1983 had to participate in the Vietnam Open from the qualifying round like this. This is simply because of his advanced age, so he cannot maintain a high ranking on the world rankings.

It is known that he even had to wait a long time to know whether he could participate in this year's tournament or not, when many players withdrew at the last minute. At the age of 42, many people have long retired, but Tien Minh still persistently went out to compete to serve the audience.

He shared after losing to Orijit Chaliha on the afternoon of September 9: "I have to admit that my health now is not as good as it was in previous years. I am very grateful to the audience who have cheered enthusiastically over the years. It is a bit regretful that I could not make it to the main round, because I believe that if I had done so, the audience would have been even larger."

And even though he lost early, which rarely happened in previous years, there were no negative attitudes like "what's the point of playing at this age?" Instead, fans always had special affection for Tien Minh.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Huy, one of the people who went to watch Tien Minh compete in the qualifying round, shared: "Vietnam has many good tennis players, worth watching. But when talking about Vietnam Open, we have to mention Tien Minh, because everyone is used to watching him compete here for the past ten years. Without Tien Minh, we will feel like something familiar is missing."

At the press conference to inform about the tournament, a representative of the organizing committee also admitted that Tien Minh is the name that can attract audiences to the field alongside Thuy Linh, Hai Dang or Duc Phat.

With a large audience on a weekday, Tien Minh is truly a monument of the Vietnam Open. Before, he was admired for his class, but now for his unbelievable perseverance at the age of 42.

Thuy Linh in action

From September 10, the Vietnam Open 2025 Badminton Tournament will enter the main round. In which, tennis player Nguyen Thuy Linh will have a match in the round of 32 against Liang Ting Yu (Chinese Taipei).

Vietnam's "badminton hot girl" has just had a successful journey at the World Championship, when she entered the round of 16. Thanks to impressive victories, she returned to 18th place in the BWF rankings. At this year's Vietnam Open, she continues to be the number 1 seed.

Meanwhile, Liang Ting Yu is not a very famous player. This year, she is 27 years old, she is not ranked as a seed. Therefore, Thuy Linh is predicted to win to continue to the round of 16.

DUC KHUE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tien-minh-tuong-dai-cua-vietnam-open-20250910100309528.htm