VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam’s N°1 female badminton player, Vu Thi Trang, was the only Vietnamese player to win during the first day of the international badminton championships, the Vietnam Grand Prix Open 2013.

Vu Thi Trang. – File photo

Played at the Phan Dinh Phung Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, Trang easily beat Chinese Taipei Shih Han Hung 21-17, 21-13 in just 30 minutes during the first round.

In other matches, all Vietnamese players lost to their opponents. The most disappointing match was in the mixed doubles event, where home favourites Thai Thi Hong Gam and Duong Bao Duc suffered a 2-0 defeat to Thai duo Patkawat and Phataimas, who twice came from behind to win.

With the absence of star player Nguyen Tien Minh, who won the tournament four times, Nguyen Hoang Nam became the country’s best hope in the singles event and will play with Wan Ho Son from the Republic of Korea on December 4 in the first round.

The annual tournament will run through December 8 with nearly 240 shuttlers from 13 countries around the world fighting it out for a slice of the 50,000 USD cash prize.

Vietnam has fielded a strong lineup of 32 players to compete in the men’s and women’s singles and doubles events and the mixed doubles category.

Source: Vietnam Plus