Nguyen Tien Minh, the best Vietnamese badminton player who is going to compete in the Beijing Olympics next month, might be a challenge to world top shuttler.

One year ago, he played against world top seed Lin Dan from China and won the first set before losing the latter two in the Good Luck Beijing 2007 International Badminton Invitational Tournament.

During that tournament, he defeated Chinese player Li Yu and bagged home a bronze medal, leaving a strong impression on Chinese badminton lovers.

Talking about the upcoming Olympics, Nguyen is confident.

"I feel very excited to go to face-to-face with world top players in the Beijing Olympics," Nguyen told Xinhua.

He said he expects to go into the final rounds and has the opportunity to challenge world best players like Lin Dan and Bao Chunlai from China.

At the Phu Tho Stadium based in Ho Chi Minh city, Nguyen is practicing hard with one of his teammates, with his shirt all wet.

He has been in an intensive training since May 20, and is one of the two Vietnamese badminton players who are qualified for the Beijing Olympics, according to Yan Shiqiang, a Chinese who is now coaching the Vietnamese team.

Yan is invited by Vietnamese badminton team to coach players for the upcoming Olympics. To better prepare for the games, the Vietnamese team invited foreign coaches to help his player learn advanced techniques in sports.

Through sending players to overseas training and games, the Vietnamese badminton players have improved a lot over the past few years and are now able to challenge world-class players, said Yan.

But their advantages and disadvantages are obvious, Yan said. "They are fast with good flexibility, but in terms of strength and height, they are weak. They are also poor in tactics," he said.

In the training, Yan focuses on improving their bouncing ability and introducing more tactics to them.

Nguyen Thi Huy, head coach of the Vietnamese badminton team, has a lot to expect from the upcoming Beijing Olympics. He eyes for the best result of his players and is also excited to lead his teams to attend the Olympics hosted by his good neighbor country.

"It is not only the glory of the Chinese people to host the Olympic Games in Beijing, it is also the glory of Asia," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2008)