Athlete speaks out after special ball at Dan Tri pickleball tournament

(Dan Tri) - The unexpected ball situation that happened at the Dan Tri pickleball tournament was widely shared on social networks and the main character in the story spoke up after the tournament ended.

Rare ball at Dan Tri newspaper pickleball tournament

Athletes participating in the pickleball tournament "Dan Tri 20 years - Bright new days" can see their competition photos at https://dantri.com.vn/pickleball20nam

The pickleball tournament "Dan Tri 20 years - Bright new days" took place on July 5 and 6 in Hanoi , gathering 574 athletes participating in 505 matches. The organizers said that all fees collected from athletes (at 500,000 VND/person) will not be used to cover the organization costs but will be used to support the construction of 5 Charity houses, helping 5 household with especially difficult circumstances in Cao Bang.

"In fact, we lost because we were a bit unlucky and did not take advantage of our opportunities. We should also commend the two young athletes because they both played very bravely.

"Two highly skilled young people - the potential of Vietnamese pickleball", athlete Hang Adam (full name Tran Thi Le Hang) praised the 2K pair Nguyen Minh Ngoc and Tran Tue Ngoc - the pair that eliminated her and teammate Binh Rafa (full name Phan Thi Thanh Binh) in the quarter-finals of the women's doubles Open of the "Dan Tri 20 years - New brilliant day" pickleball tournament held on July 5.

Hang Adam shared with Dan Tri reporter after the rare ball situation that happened at the Dan Tri newspaper pickleball tournament spread on social media and caused the senior couple to regrettably lose to the younger couple.

According to the shared video , a rather rare ball situation happened in the quarter-final match between the pair Hang Adam and Binh Rafa and Nguyen Minh Ngoc and Tran Tue Ngoc.

This was an extremely dramatic and intense match, when the rich experience of the competition helped the couple Hang Adam - Binh Rafa continuously lead the couple 2K Ngoc "tho" and Ngoc "be" (nicknames of Minh Ngoc and Tue Ngoc).

Tran Tue Ngoc (black shirt) and Nguyen Minh Ngoc (white shirt) compete fiercely on the pickleball court at the Dan Tri newspaper tournament (Photo: Manh Quan).

However, the confidence of youth helped the 2K couple regain important points to take the lead with a score of 11-10 and still have 2 serving rights (the match has 15 points, the couple that reaches 15 points first will win).

Notably, in Minh Ngoc's first serve, both couples played with great determination and created an extremely dramatic tug-of-war. At the decisive moment, Minh Ngoc had a difficult attack at the net, sending the ball right into the middle of Hang Adam and the 2K couple immediately turned away to celebrate when they thought they had scored a direct point.

Athlete Hang Adam always gives her all on the pickleball court, leaving a lasting impression on the audience (Photo: Manh Quan).

However, Hang Adam had quick reflexes to try to save the ball and return it to the opponent's field, but the referee still counted the score for the 2K couple when he thought that the ball had bounced twice on the field before athlete Hang Adam saved the ball.

At this time, the pair Hang Adam - Binh Rafa did not agree with the referee's decision and requested to check VAR technology with the above ball situation. However, this was a match without 12-eye VAR technology (12-eye VAR technology is only arranged at field number 1 for the semi-final and final matches onwards).

Immediately after that, the head referee Dinh Cong Minh had to go on the field to consult with the referee in charge of the match as well as the two pairs of athletes on how to handle the sensitive ball situation mentioned above. In the end, both athletes agreed with the referee to replay the sensitive ball.

"Looking back at the video, everyone can see that I saved the ball successfully. If I had cut off my opponent's serve, the game could have been different. However, I don't blame the referee for this situation.

In fact, I have competed in many pickleball tournaments so I completely sympathize with the referee because there are many fast ball situations that the referee cannot see in time without the support of VAR technology," athlete Hang Adam expressed about the referee's handling of the sensitive ball situation.

In the rematch, the 2K pair continued to win and took the lead with a score of 13-10. However, Hang Adam - Binh Rafa showed their fighting spirit when they cut off their opponent's serve and scored 4 consecutive points to take the lead with a score of 14-13.

In Binh Rafa's second serve, the senior pair thought they had won with a score of 15-13, but Binh Rafa's unlucky shot sent the ball just wide.

Regaining the right to serve, the 2K pair Minh Ngoc and Tue Ngoc regained their confidence when they scored 2 consecutive important points to win a dramatic victory with a final score of 15-14.

This victory helped Minh Ngoc and Tue Ngoc compete confidently and win the semi-final match afterwards. The 2K pair only had to submit to the two athletes Si Boi Ngoc and Tran Huyen Trang in the final match, accepting the runner-up position in the Open women's doubles event.

Hang Adam and Binh Rafa were stunned after their quarter-final defeat, but both affirmed that this defeat was only motivation for them to continue their efforts in the next tournaments (Photo: Manh Quan).

"I'm just sad and blame myself for not playing well, not blaming anyone else. Sports have wins and losses, even bitterness, but I think everyone has to accept it, know who they are, and what they compete for. Losing makes me a little sad, but everything goes back to normal afterward because I don't put too much emphasis on the results," athlete Hang Adam added after the tournament.

The Organizing Committee of the Pickleball Tournament “Dan Tri 20 Years - Bright New Day” would like to sincerely thank the Sponsors and Companions who have trusted, supported and contributed significantly to the success of the tournament: Platinum Sponsor – Pharmacity Pharmacy System, Vingroup Corporation; Silver Sponsor – Masan Group, Masterise Group Joint Stock Company, Exclusive Competition Costume Sponsor – Coolmate Fashion Brand, Hasuno Cosmetics Brand, Sunshine Group Joint Stock Company; Bronze Sponsor – Ho Chi Minh City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HDBank), Thu Cuc TCI Healthcare System; with the accompanying units - MK Vision Joint Stock Company, MIC Thang Long Insurance Company, Pafoli Paint Group, KOVA Paint Company Limited, ZSports Sports Joint Stock Company, Vietnam Phat GCK Company Limited, Hoang Phong Sports Trading & Production Company Limited, Primer Group Joint Stock Company, Medlatec Vietnam Company Limited, Coca-Cola Vietnam Beverage Company Limited, Midomax Vietnam Joint Stock Company, Dong Luc Joint Stock Company, Otsuka Nutraceutical Vietnam Company Limited. Your valuable companionship is a great source of motivation for the tournament to spread the spirit of sportsmanship, connect the community and continue to shine in the following seasons.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/vdv-len-tieng-sau-pha-bong-dac-biet-tai-giai-pickleball-bao-dan-tri-20250708134749206.htm