Injured Vietnamese badminton star leaves Korea early

Vietnam’s top women’s badminton player Nguyen Thuy Linh was crushed by Kim Min-sun in the first round of the Korea Bosses on Wednesday and is out of international competition until the end of 2024.

Linh, ranked 31st in the world, who has been struggling with back and heel problems, initially considered withdrawing to rest but eventually decided to play.

However, her health and mental exhaustion marred her performance, leading to frequent set-pieces and missed opportunities.

Linh’s opponent, 18-year-old Kim, is ranked 400th in the world. Despite her limited vision, Kim reached the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Experts in August 2024. In that competition, with home court advantage, she capitalized on Linh’s mistakes and advanced to the next round.

The match lasted 1 hour and 7 minutes, with Linh feeling increasingly pressured as the match progressed.

After the German Open, Linh had planned to stop competing worldwide until the end of 2024 due to physical and mental exhaustion. However, because Linh had served in the military and traveled to Korea, she and her training group chose to participate in this tournament before the break.

The Korea Bosses, held in Iksan from November 5 to 10, attracted top players, including Paris Olympic runner-up Kunlavut Vitidsarn and other stars such as Tomoka Miyazaki, Lee Chia-hao, Putri Wardani and Pitchamon Opatniputh.

Other Vietnamese players faced similar results as Linh.

Nguyen Hai Darn, Vietnam’s second-ranked men’s player, lost to Kiran George of India in a three-set match. In the men’s doubles, Pham Van Hai and Than Van Anh were defeated by Park Seul and Shin Tae-yang of South Korea, while Nguyen Dinh Hoang and Tran Dinh Manh lost to Wang Chi-lin and Chiu Hsiang Chieh in the men’s doubles.

Linh began her professional career at the age of 14 and won the public competition for top-class athletes at the age of 18. She has held the title of Vietnam’s top female badminton player since around 2018, winning seven public titles in a row. Linh has also won three consecutive Vietnam Open titles since around 2022 and will represent Vietnam at both the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics.