Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh to become country’s first athlete to compete in three straight Olympics
Vietnam’s Olympic badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh takes part in a training
session in Hanoi, Vietnam May 31, 2016. (Photo: Reuters)
Vietnam’s top badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh has ranked 17 among 38 finalists for the Rio Olympic Games in Brazil, becoming the first Vietnamese athlete to participate in the world’s largest sporting event three consecutive years in a row.
On Tuesday, the Badminton World Federation announced that Minh, 33, dropped three places to World No. 35 in the latest rankings.
Meanwhile, his girlfriend Vu Thi Trang slid down four places to World No. 51.
Trang came in 25th place out of 38 female badminton players selected to compete at the Rio Olympic Games.
Vietnam has so far won 16 berths to the 2016 Olympics; three in weightlifting, two in shooting, one in swimming, two in wrestling, one in race walking, three in fencing, two in gymnastics, and two in rowing.
– TiVi Tuan-san
