Nguyen Tien Minh advances at Vietnam Open 2026 qualifiers: A victory of experience or a concern for the young generation?

The Super 100 event does not bring the fervent atmosphere of larger BWF World Tour arenas. Only a corner of the stands was filled, where Vietnamese flags waved with every rally. Nguyen Tien Minh stepped onto the court with familiar composure, his eyes calm. He slowly adjusted to the lights, the surface, and the pressure of age – as if he had done this a hundred times. Sitting in the commentary booth, I remembered my own words from a broadcast: “The sofa taught me that an empty stadium still has applause.” Today, that applause was for a 43-year-old veteran from Vietnam. The Vietnam Open 2026 is a Super 100 tournament, the lowest tier of the BWF World Tour. Held from September 8 to 13 in Ho Chi Minh City, it attracts more than 300 athletes from 27 countries and territories. For many nations, it is a chance for young players to earn ranking points. For Vietnam, the event is linked to a legend – Nguyen Tien Minh. In the men's singles qualifiers, Minh faced his younger compatriot Nguyen Hoang Thai Son, nearly 20 years his junior. Thai Son is a doubles specialist with good physique and powerful strokes. Yet in a singles match, he looked lost. Minh did not need spectacular smashes; he used patience and his ability to read the game. Based on my experience watching badminton, veteran singles players are good at exploiting the psychology of younger opponents. Minh dragged Thai Son into long rallies, hitting deep corners, forcing continuous movement – neutralizing his doubles-oriented game. Minh's technique is no longer at its peak, but his serves, his net drops, still carry the mark of a former top-5 player. He is like an old cat, saving energy and striking at the right moment. After the match, he said simply: “I still have passion and enough strength to continue.” But physical condition is key. At 43, he cannot sustain high intensity for three games, which could be a challenge if he advances further. Vietnam's men's singles story is not only about Minh. The same day, Le Duc Phat – at his peak – played with pain-killing injections in his knee and heel. His wife watched anxiously from the stands. Phat won, but the worry remains. Meanwhile, Nguyen Hai Dang, a young hope, was eliminated in qualifying. This reveals a harsh truth: Vietnamese men's singles lacks players in the “golden age” of 24-30 who can compete at high levels. Minh is still carrying the burden, showing that we rely on a giant tree while the forest has not yet grown. Looking at young Southeast Asian players in this Super 100, I see clear progress. Thailand and India have invested in professional coaching early. Vietnam still depends on homegrown talents like Minh, who studied opponents through videos. Not everyone has that self-learning ability. There is a counterintuitive angle here. Minh's victory can be seen as a positive sign: experience still beats youth. I agree. But a 43-year-old veteran struggling in the qualifying round of a home Super 100 also exposes inadequacies in development strategy. Strong badminton nations like Japan or Indonesia rarely let a player of that age go through qualifying; they have enough young players to take over. Vietnam does not. The mic not judging, just lighting up the rally. And today's rally reveals many issues. What worries me most is the generational gap. Thai Son may not be good in singles yet, but he is part of a striving generation. They need proper investment, clear tactics, and regular international exposure. As long as Vietnamese badminton lacks a systematic training base for young singles players, we will continue to see them struggle against top international styles. In the first round of the main draw, Nguyen Tien Minh will face Taiwan's Zhe Ying Wu, a much younger player with good stamina. Unless Minh has a clever tactic and can last three games, he may stop early. But even if he loses, that match will be a lesson for Vietnam's young players if they truly want to learn. From Jakarta to home court, badminton is still a bridge that needs no pillars – as long as those crossing know their direction. Today, the stadium may not be full, but I believe the applause for Nguyen Tien Minh will linger in the hearts of Vietnamese badminton fans. For this sport, what is needed is not watching another veteran step forward, but finding young faces daring to carry on that path. A rally has three truths: the player's, the umpire's, and the audience's. The player's truth: he still has passion. The umpire's truth: he won. The audience's truth today might be: we love badminton, and we also love its future.