Vietnam's top badminton player beats Indonesian at Swiss Open

Vietnam's number one badminton player Nguyen Thuy Linh. Photo courtesy of Nguyen Thuy Linh

After two competitions at the Super 750 and 1000 tournament systems in France and England, Linh chose a tournament in Switzerland at the Super 300.

This level is equivalent to the German Open, where she reached the final. Linh's first opponent was Wardoyo, a 20-year-old Indonesian currently 37th in the world ranking. Previously, Linh lost 2-1 to Wardoyo at SEA Games 32 last year.

The two players entered the match with confidence, battling for points before Linh led 11-8. After the break, the Vietnamese player continued to thrive and then increased the gap to 16-10 before winning 21-16 in the first set.

Linh maintained her approach at the beginning of the second set, leading 13-11. But after that, her misses helped Wardoyo equalize 14-14 and then 18-18.

The Indonesian player handled Linh’s shots well to lead 20-18. Linh scored another point, but could not reverse the situation, allowing Wardoyo to win 21-19.

In this match, Linh continued with American tennis player Laurent Lam accompanying her as an advisor. After consulting Lam and getting her composure together, Linh came back strong in the third set.

She led 4-1 then 18-14. Wardoyo tried to play faster and shortened the gap to 18-16 and equalized at 19-19. But her miss later helped Linh lead 20-19. The 26-year-old player did not miss this chance as she delivered the final point to win 21-19.

In the round of 16, Thuy Linh will meet another Indonesian player, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung. Tunjung is currently eighth in world ranking and is the number two seed in the tournament.

In terms of ranking, Linh is far behind her opponent but still has confidence in winning because she defeated Tunjung 2-0 in the 2023 China Open.

Linh is currently 20th in the world ranking and 15th on the 2024 Paris Olympics qualification table.

She is choosing tournaments in Europe to maintain her rank and keep her qualification spot at the Paris Olympics this summer.

After the Swiss Open, Linh will play at the Spanish Open then return home for a break before playing another tournament in China.

In mid-April 2024, the World Badminton Federation will announce the list of players qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Linh's goal is to perform well enough in these tournaments to accumulate enough points to be among the seeds at the Olympics.