The organizers of the Vietnam International Challenge 2026 Badminton Tournament have announced the preliminary list of participating athletes, including Nguyen Tien Minh.
This year's tournament continues to compete in Hanoi from March 24 to March 29. Nguyen Tien Minh is the oldest face of Vietnamese badminton expected to register to participate in the men's singles event.
However, Tien Minh must participate in the preliminary round. The reason is that the player is ranked 262nd in the world, not having enough points and ranking to receive a ticket to the main round.
Tien Minh is holding the record for the Vietnamese player to win the Vietnam International Challenge the most times. Tien Minh has won 5 times. This year, Tien Minh enters the age of 43.
Recently, Tien Minh competed in 2 international tournaments in Singapore and China respectively but was unsuccessful. Also in the preliminary list of the Vietnam International Challenge 2026 tournament, Tien Minh's wife, player Vu Thi Trang, is expected not to participate in the tournament.
The men's singles event also has Le Duc Phat, Nguyen Hai Dang, Phan Phuc Thinh registered to compete. The men's singles champion of the 2025 tournament, Puritat Arree (Thailand), continues to be on the registered list to participate in this year's tournament.
In recent years, Vietnamese men's badminton has not had a face that has won the singles event at the Vietnam International Challenge tournament. In 2023, Le Duc Phat entered the final but only won the runner-up position.
