Vietnam Open 2026: Nguyen Tien Minh, 43, still finds path to the main draw

The qualifying round of the Vietnam Open 2026, an international badminton event on the BWF World Tour Super 100 circuit, began on September 8, 2026. Among the hundreds of players trying to secure a place in the main draw, the most striking figure for Vietnamese fans was not a young talent, but veteran Nguyen Tien Minh. At 43 years old and ranked 254th in the world, he came through qualifying and put his name into the main draw. His opponent in the deciding match was Nguyen Hoang Thai Son, a much younger player mainly associated with doubles. The win did not come through powerful smashes or dazzling speed. In fact, it came from a nearly invisible but recognizable factor: the difference between singles habits and doubles habits. Nguyen Hoang Thai Son had physical strength, but he had to process situations with the reflexes of a doubles player. On a singles court, going to the net too early or leaving space on both sides can be punished immediately. The punisher this time was an experienced veteran. Nguyen Tien Minh did not need to win by scoring quickly. He pulled the match into a slower rhythm, used tight angles, and forced his opponent to constantly adjust his balance. Shots that were not too fast or too heavy were exactly what wore down the judgment of a player with little singles experience. No specific statistics on racket speed, error rate or long rallies have been released. But the man on court knew what kind of battle he was building. After the match, Minh was quoted by the media as saying that his opponent was not really strong in singles. Minh also said he still enjoys competing and still wants to be on court despite his age. Those words sound simple, but to maintain fitness and focus at 43 requires more than just a bit of passion. This result put Minh into the main draw against Zhe Ying Wu from Chinese Taipei. There is no extensive public head-to-head data between the two. It is clear the level will be completely different from qualifying. If the win over Thai Son came from a gap in singles experience, then in the main draw Minh must face a more complete test. He will need better rhythm, smarter movement, and may have to accept a more pressured match. Looking at Vietnamese badminton as a whole, Minh's qualifying win also exposes an uncomfortable reality: the men's singles pool still depends heavily on veterans or players struggling with injuries. Le Duc Phat, one of the main hopes, has to compete with pain in his knee and heel, requiring pain-relief injections to continue. Nguyen Hai Dang had already exited early. That makes the group even thinner in front of more than 300 athletes from 27 countries and territories. Minh is not the only Vietnamese player fighting through physical issues. Family members standing outside the court can be a motivation, but a Super 100 tournament is not the right place to test whether an athlete has truly recovered from a long injury. If the opponent is strong enough, speed and endurance will quickly push a painful player to the limit. In the women's singles event, there is another exciting match between Nguyen Thuy Linh and 19-year-old Xu Wen Jing. It carries a similar meaning: one side has years of international experience, the other has youth and ambition. The Vietnam Open 2026 may not have elite seeds, but it remains a place for Vietnamese badminton to take a hard look at itself. To me, someone who has followed Nguyen Tien Minh through different stages of his career, this qualifying win should be viewed soberly. It should not be read as proof that a veteran can defeat time. It shows that understanding the mechanism of a singles match, from movement rhythm to angle selection, can still make a difference when the opponent lacks depth in this discipline. In other words, Minh's victory reflects Nguyen Hoang Thai Son's strategic gap more than it signals a rejuvenated badminton culture. Because of that, fans should not expect too much from this campaign. A qualifying win is a good sign, but it does not change the reality of age and rankings. For a 43-year-old player, every extra round requires luck in fitness and scheduling. Minh may still be clever enough to trouble a young opponent, but in a long tournament, durability often decides the outcome. The Vietnam Open 2026 is also one of the events that helps Vietnamese players earn ranking points. For young players, it is a chance to face international opponents without travelling far or spending too much. For veterans like Minh, it is a way to keep the feel of the court, keep his competitive rhythm, and show that passion does not have to follow a fixed retirement age. But from a long-term development view, the deeper concern is that the number of young players ready to take over is still limited. The main draw will be another challenge. Whatever the result, Nguyen Tien Minh's upcoming match against Zhe Ying Wu will still attract attention. Whenever he steps on court, Vietnamese fans see a generation that has represented the country's badminton for decades. The bigger question is what comes next: after Minh, which Vietnamese player will have enough composure to get through qualifying at an international tournament without leaning on his senior?