Nguyen Tien Minh Qualifies for Vietnam Open 2026: Experience of the Veteran, and the Worry About the Young

At nine in the morning, Nguyen Du Stadium was not yet crowded with spectators. I found a hidden corner near the fence, where no camera was focused, and happened to witness Nguyen Tien Minh, a 43-year-old player ranked 254th in the world, bending down to pick up the shuttlecock after a soft drop shot ended his qualifying match at the Vietnam Open 2026. His opponent, Nguyen Hoang Thai Son, the national team's doubles specialist, stood by the net shaking his head, perhaps because of the movements he could not predict from a man nearly twice his age. Minh did not celebrate. He only picked up his racket and walked towards his chair, tired but with a sharp look in his eyes. Nature did not give him an exceptional talent, but it gave him something few young athletes have: experience and the ability to read the game like the back of his hand. The Vietnam Open 2026, part of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 100 system, is not the most prestigious tournament but holds an important place for players in the region. With more than 300 athletes from 27 countries and territories, the tournament held from September 8 to 13 is an opportunity to accumulate ranking points. For Vietnam, the tournament is also a test of the national badminton team's strength, especially in men's singles, when the generation of Nguyen Tien Minh is already on the other side of the career slope. Looking at the list of names, one can see an imbalance: Nguyen Tien Minh still had to play qualifiers, Le Duc Phat had to take pain-relief injections in his knee and heel, and Nguyen Hai Dang was just eliminated. Meanwhile, a young player who could challenge him, Thai Son, is a doubles player. I have watched Minh compete since the days when he was at his peak, when every smash of his made opponents cautious. Now, at 43, he no longer has the speed of a young athlete, but he has the ability to read the game. Against Thai Son, Minh displayed a calculated style. He did not try to smash hard but continuously pushed the shuttle to the two corners of the court, forcing his opponent to move continuously. I remember him saying after the match: "I knew he had strength and speed, but singles is not only that. Singles is a battle of patience and tactics." Thai Son, used to playing doubles, had to cover the entire court by himself. He seemed confused in the cross-court movements, where Minh often dropped the shuttle. This was not the victory of a star, but a victory of a skilled old craftsman. This reminds me of my own story. In 2026, when I began my journalism career without any plan, I learned that journalism can choose you, but you also have to create your own opportunities. I remember the 2026 World Cup, when I abandoned writing about Ronaldo to chase a young Moroccan player, and then discovered that stars are not born in the stands, but in the mud. Today, in Minh's match, I see a similar image: people may celebrate the victory of a veteran, but few pay attention to the young athletes who are under pressure to replace a golden generation that has passed. The shadow of the next generation of Vietnamese badminton is a big question mark. Nguyen Hai Dang, one of the young hopes in men's singles, was eliminated in the qualifying round. Le Duc Phat, the most expected player, is struggling with knee and heel injuries. Looking from the stands, I saw Phat's wife sitting with pursed lips, and I knew she was worried for her husband more than hoping for results. Phat had to take pain-relief injections to compete, which shows that the physical condition of Vietnamese players has not been well cared for. On the contrary, Minh's victory in a qualifying match should not be glorified. It is actually a dangerous indicator: if a 43-year-old player still has to play qualifying at a Super 100 tournament, it means that men's singles badminton does not have enough successors. In my opinion, that is a more urgent message than how well Minh performed. At his age, Minh should be a coach or a mentor to young talents, not the one holding the racket on the court. His continued participation is not because he still has the desire, but because the federation has no better replacement plan. Another point to consider: Minh's victory came because his opponent is not a professional singles player. Thai Son mainly plays doubles, so his movement and tactical thinking are different from top singles players. This is a kind of advantage, but it cannot be said that Minh passed a real test. If he faced a young singles specialist of similar ranking, the result could be different. My observations from matches I have followed show that the difference between singles and doubles is huge: in doubles, you have a teammate to cover half the court; in singles, you have to handle all the space yourself. So this victory does not prove much about Minh's form. However, do not misunderstand that I am criticizing a veteran. On the contrary, I deeply respect an athlete who still runs with imagination and passion, even when reality is harsh. I remember 2026, when the pandemic froze all sports activities, I thought I had nothing to write. But then I realized that in crisis, sportspeople show us extraordinary resilience. Nguyen Tien Minh today, in a qualifying match under not-so-bright lights, is proving that for someone who truly loves sports, age is just a number. But in the long run, Vietnamese badminton cannot rely on a 43-year-old Minh. We need to ask the big question: where are the men's singles players of the 9X and 10X generations? Why has the national championship not found new faces capable of reaching the international level? Is it because they have switched to doubles to achieve better results? Or because investment in men's singles is too little compared to doubles? Looking at the list of players participating in the Vietnam Open, there is an interesting point: on the women's side, Nguyen Thuy Linh still represents the generation that had a golden time, but her opponent is a 19-year-old player from Taiwan. That shows that in some places, they have had a natural generation transition. As for us, we seem to be stuck in between: the old generation has not been willing to stop, and the new generation is not yet mature enough to take over. Minh's match today may be remembered as a beautiful moment for a veteran. But if we just stop at that and do not recognize that this is a warning, Vietnamese badminton fans will soon witness a time when no one represents the country at international tournaments. Minh can play because of passion, but sports administrators should not let that passion hide the weakness in youth training. Instead of praising the qualifying victory of a 43-year-old, we should be alarmed by the emptiness of the next generation. The lesson from what I have seen at Olympic Games and international athletics events is that sports always need a sustainable transition. If we only rely on a few outstanding individuals to extend a golden period, when they leave, we will have nothing left. Nguyen Tien Minh has contributed too much to Vietnamese badminton. It's time to give him a new role, not as an eternal player, but as a torchbearer for the next generation. In my view, Minh's victory today is not just a sports story; it reflects a systemic problem. And we, journalists who witness the steps of a veteran, must also ask ourselves: are we forgetting the young people practicing quietly behind the scenes?