GERMANY - Defeating No. 2 seed Kim Ga Eun with a score of 20-22, 21-8 and 21-18, Vietnam's number one female tennis player Nguyen Thuy Linh entered the final of the 2024 German Open international badminton tournament.
Kim is the number two Korean tennis player, ranked 13th in the world . She is also the defending champion of the women's team event at the 19th Asian Games in 2023. Kim also easily defeated Thuy Linh 2-0 in the quarterfinals of the China Masters last year.
But in this reunion, Thuy Linh was not at a disadvantage. On the way to the semi-finals, the Vietnamese player did not lose a single set. Similar to the quarter-final victory over former world number one Ratchanok Intanon, she continued to have the support of her "reluctant northern coach" Lauren Lam. Lam, a Chinese-American player, was Linh's loser in the round of 16, and was asked by her colleague to sit in the coaching chair to provide professional support.
In the stands today, there were a number of Vietnamese fans living in Germany, who often shouted "Thuy Linh, keep it up" to cheer on their fellow countryman.
Nguyen Thuy Linh is in top form at her first major international tournament in Europe in 2024. Photo: Duc Dong
At the start of the first set, Thuy Linh misjudged the shuttlecock and hit it wide, allowing Kim to lead 4-2. But then, when she took the initiative to hit a small shuttlecock at the net, she scored four points in a row to lead 6-4.
Kim, with her 1.72m height, long arms and good stretching power, quickly responded with smashes. She scored six points in a row to go up 11-7 before the break.
After consulting with Lam, Thuy Linh returned and scored a point. But Kim still showed strength, maintaining the lead at 15-9.
Thinking she would lose by a large margin, Thuy Linh suddenly rose up. She changed her playing style, choosing to drop shots, set up the shuttlecock and pull the net, making her opponent struggle to move. Thanks to two four-point streaks, she led 17-16 and came close to winning at 20-19. But at the decisive moment, Kim made an accurate return to tie the score at 20-20 and then won 22-20.
In the second set, Thuy Linh played more variedly. She dropped, pulled the ball across the net and smashed the ball, forcing Kim to constantly move, giving her no chance to counterattack. Thanks to that, the player from Phu Tho led 5-2, 10-5 and then 11-6. Maintaining constant pressure, she scored unbelievable scores, sometimes making the audience gasp in surprise. Thuy Linh won 21-8.
At the start of the third set, Thuy Linh appeared to be unsteady. She hit the shuttlecock out of play and misjudged her serve, allowing Kim to lead 4-0 then 5-2. But after that, the Vietnamese player took advantage of her chances, scoring seven points in a row to lead 9-5 then 11-8, before taking a break and switching sides.
After that, the two players took turns scoring points. When Thuy Linh was excited and leading 13-11, Kim asked for a pause so the doctor could spray her calf. However, when the match resumed, Thuy Linh did not lose her enthusiasm, keeping the gap at two points and then scoring three points in a row to lead 18-13.
After Kim reduced the score to 16-18, Thuy Linh remained calm, scoring three points in a row to win 21-18. After the deciding point, the 27-year-old player ran out to hug Lam, while the audience stood up and applauded the Vietnamese player's performance.
The final will take place tomorrow night, March 3.
The German Open is part of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 300. After this tournament, Thuy Linh continued to participate in tournaments in France, England, Switzerland and Spain to accumulate points to secure a place in the Olympics.
Thuy Linh was born in 1997, started playing badminton at the age of 10 and is currently the number one badminton player in Vietnam. She won the bronze medal in women's singles at the 31st SEA Games, won 10 major titles in her career, notably Bangladesh International 2018 and 2019, Belgium International 2022 and Vietnam Open 2022, 2023.
Duc Dong - Vnexpress.net
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