Back to effort
“I have been training and competing to achieve the best professional results after the recent journey to the 2024 Paris Olympics (France),” Le Duc Phat expressed. Returning to Vietnam after the 2024 Paris Olympics (France), Duc Phat is one of the few athletes who continued to compete without resting.
This Army sports player participated in the 2024 National Badminton Championship (closing on April 17), reached the final of the men's singles and was runner-up. "The 2024 Paris Olympics (France) is an arena with many memories for me, but from here, I have matured and accumulated necessary experience. It is the biggest tournament in my career that I have ever attended.
I understand that through the tournament, I know my own capabilities. Most importantly, the 2024 Paris Olympics (France) have ended, now I have to try harder in the next training and competition programs" - Le Duc Phat added.
At this time, Le Duc Phat has left for Nigeria to attend the International Challenge 2024 Badminton Tournament. Of the 16 Vietnamese athletes who attended the 2024 Paris Olympics, when they returned home, each had their own training and competition program, but Le Duc Phat was the first athlete to return to the international arena early.
Therefore, Duc Phat's goal is to win the tournament in Nigeria. If successful, Duc Phat will have a positive start for himself and Vietnamese men's badminton because in September 2024, the player has been scheduled to prepare professionally to participate in no less than three important international tournaments.
Vietnamese badminton still lacks one thing, which is achievements when participating in international tournaments. The player with the best international results so far is Nguyen Tien Minh. Now, Vietnamese men's badminton is waiting for two next players, Le Duc Phat and Nguyen Hai Dang, to follow in their footsteps and make history when going abroad.
Aim for the world's top 50
“My main goal is to increase my ranking and enter the top 50 players in the world. To do this, the most important thing is to achieve good results in professional competitions,” Duc Phat shared. Currently, Duc Phat is in the Top 70 men's singles in badminton. The opportunity and ability for Le Duc Phat to enter the top 50 players in the world and possibly even higher is completely possible.
The goals are outlined specifically and the implementation roadmap will also be systematic. Le Duc Phat continues to participate in international tournaments at the International Challenge level because that is where Vietnamese male badminton players are at the same level of ability. They (including Duc Phat) can easily accumulate many points from tournaments at the higher level. At that time, Duc Phat's ranking will improve if he achieves high results in this tournament system.
“Our goal for Duc Phat is to improve his performance because when he enters the top 50 players in the world or even higher, Vietnamese men's badminton players will have more opportunities to participate in tournaments at the BWF World Tour Super level. These are the high-class tournaments that create professional competition and increase higher achievements,” said Mr. Khoa Trung Kien - Head of the Badminton Department (Department of Sports and Physical Training).
If he competes and achieves success in many tournaments at the International Challenge level, Le Duc Phat will soon be ranked in the Top 50 in the world in 2025 without having to wait too long. The journey that tennis player Nguyen Thuy Linh has made (entering the Top 20 in the world) is also done in this way. And now, Thuy Linh focuses on participating in tournaments in the BWF World Tour Super system to improve her skills.
Le Duc Phat and Vietnamese men's badminton continue to do so. Before receiving the official ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics (France), Duc Phat had a period of time when he had the intention of rethinking whether or not to pursue his high-performance badminton career. However, after being officially recognized as a player for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Duc Phat's hesitations were ended. The player affirmed that he is still focusing on badminton, on his high-performance sports career that he has had and is having.
2028 Olympics will start from SEA Games
Many people have asked whether Duc Phat is determined to continue his journey to win a ticket to the Olympics in 2028 or not. The tennis player did not hesitate to say that this is always the goal of any athlete. “However, I first start with tournaments and my own preparation. The SEA Games arena is also an important goal for me,” said Le Duc Phat.
Indeed, badminton at the SEA Games has attracted many of the world's top players. Vietnamese badminton has never won a gold medal at the SEA Games. Le Duc Phat had two recent opportunities to participate in the men's singles at the 31st and 32nd SEA Games, but he did not leave an impressive record and did not win a medal.
A year later, Vietnamese sports began their journey to participate in the 33rd SEA Games-2025 in Thailand. Duc Phat understood that he had to make great efforts to achieve the best results in the above arena. “Tennis players from Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia all participated in the Olympics in France and each one demonstrated their highest professional ability. Next year, certainly many Olympic badminton faces from the above countries will participate in the 33rd SEA Games, so the competition is very attractive. But that also shows that the competition for medals is not easy,” the representative of the badminton department (Department of Physical Education and Sports) analyzed.
Le Duc Phat has four years to prepare himself for the 2028 Olympic Games. However, everyone understands that with the way the Badminton World Federation (BWF) will award places based on the athlete's ranking at the moment, the most important thing is for Le Duc Phat to improve his ranking. Before going to Nigeria to compete, the player said that he is in the most stable and stable state of mind to be ready for the upcoming matches.
In the history of Vietnamese badminton, Nguyen Tien Minh is the player with the best results when he participated in the Olympic tournament four times in a row with an official ticket. Le Duc Phat always considered his senior Tien Minh as an idol to follow and aspire to. Through many domestic tournaments, Le Duc Phat has matured a lot and maintained his position with achievements before many players, but the most important thing is still to achieve international achievements.
In his professional journey, Le Duc Phat has had the opportunity to participate in the SEA Games, ASIAD, Olympics, Asian Championships, and World Championships, so he understands what he has to learn from his experience. The results at the 2024 Paris Olympics (France) are memories, now everything for Duc Phat is a new journey.
In 2023, this Army sports player encountered some difficulties due to injury in the final stages, but at this time, all preparations from physical strength to technique were accumulated by Duc Phat for himself in the most complete way. The 33rd SEA Games is scheduled to take place in December next year, so Le Duc Phat and Vietnamese badminton still have a lot of time to prepare for this important arena.
