(VOV) – Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh will need to overcome his internationally top 10 ranked opponent Wang Zhengming in his first match at the Japan Open on September 17.
The annual tournament is part of the Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) Super Series.
Wang Zhengming won the 2013 Swiss Open, advanced to the semifinals of the 2013 Badminton Asia Championships, and has previously defeated leading international talents such as Du Pengyu, Boonsak Ponsana, Lin Dan, and Chen Jin.
Tien Minh beat the 23-year-old player in their past two encounters but each match lasted three sets.
Wang Zhengming has also demonstrated noticeable improvement since their last meeting in January 2012.
If Tien Minh wins, he could then face Japan’s Kento Momota in the tournament’s second round.
Minh has also drawn possible later round showdowns against Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana and Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei.
The tournament’s prize pool totals US$200,000. Minh made it to the quarterfinals in 2012.
The Vietnamese badminton player has dropped two places to 7th in the latest BWF rankings.
He will compete in five international tournaments and one domestic tournament over the remainder of the year. These include the National Individual Championships (September 22-26), Super Series Premier Denmark (October 15-20), Super Series Premier China (November 12-17), Super Series Hong Kong (November 19-24), Grand Prix Vietnam (December 2-8), and the SEA Games (November 14-18).
Đăng ký: VietNam News