Badminton 

HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội will be the next destination for the world's best badminton players, who will vie for prizes at this year's Ciputra Hanoi – Yonex Sunrise Vietnam International Challenge.

The annual event will be held on March 24-29 at the capital city's Xuân Đỉnh Gymnasium.

Nearly 330 athletes from 21 countries, including Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand, the Philippines, Malaysia, the US and Việt Nam have registered to take part in the event.

They will compete in five categories of men's and women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles. A purse of US$20,000 will be delivered to high-ranking players, with the champions taking $1,600.

At a press conference on March 18, deputy director of the Hà Nội Department of Culture and Sports Phạm Xuân Tài emphasised the importance of the tournament in the development of national sports.

After 14 successful editions, the scale and professional quality of the tournament has continuously improved, attracting attention from both the World Badminton Federation and the Asian Badminton Federation, he noted.

Tài said the event is a valuable opportunity for promising Vietnamese badminton players to compete and demonstrate their skills against world-class opponents.

He added that players from badminton powerhouses Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Chinese Taipei – along with those from Europe and North America – would hold competitive matches to entertain Vietnamese supporters.

Việt Nam will have 14 players competing in all classes.

Fans will see the comeback of Việt Nam's legendary Nguyễn Tiến Minh, Paris Olympics participant Lê Đức Phát and Việt Nam's current highest-ranked international athlete, Nguyễn Hải Đăng, playing in the men's singles.

They will face top seed Mithun Manjunath, Number 3 Priyanshu Rajawat of India and fourth-seeded Yoo Tae Bin of South Korea on the way to the podium.

Duo Nguyễn Đình Hoàng and Trần Đình Mạnh will defend their title in the men's doubles. Last year, they defeated Japanese rivals 2-1 to take the gold for Việt Nam, which was the first-ever title for the country in an International Challenge event.

 

On the women's side are veteran Vũ Thị Trang and duo Phạm Thị Khánh and Phạm Thị Diệu Ly, who are aiming for the world's top 100 and plan to shoulder the task of earning medals for the hosts.

Their main challenges will be top seed Tung Ciou-Tong of Chinese Taipei as well as Rakshitha Sree Santhosh Ramraj (No 2), Tanya Hemanth (No 3) and Tasnim Mir (No 4) of India.

Aside from matches, players will be given the opportunity to tour to Hà Nội's heritage sites and landmarks that will help the hosts to popularise the image of the capital city and Việt Nam to international friends.

The early round matches will be free for supporters, who will have to pay for tickets starting in the quarter-final rounds.

Organisers are hoping to avoid the overcrowding of seats seen in previous seasons, while also ensuring the absolute security and safety of athletes in accordance with the stringent standards of an international tournament.

For those who can't watch the games in person, matches will be aired live on the VTVcab channel and the Việt Nam Badminton Federation's fanpage. — VNS