Nguyen Thuy Linh defeated the Thai badminton prodigy

Opatnipeth Pitchamon was born in 2006, nicknamed Pink, considered a prodigy of Thai badminton. In today's semi-final, the 79th tennis player in the world also has the home field advantage, with the support of a large number of fans. Therefore, she caused many difficulties for the number one seed Thuy Linh.

In the first game, Thuy Linh started well, continuously leading in the first half. But with flexible movement and powerful smashes, Pitchamon persistently chased, removed 12-12 and then led back 15-13.

To cut the opponent's excitement, Thuy Linh stopped briefly to tie her hair. When she returned, she performed better. The world No. 49 started the longest scoring streak in the game (four points) with three consecutive smashes, breaking Pitchamon's defense to narrow the gap to 14-17. She then hit the person directly, causing the opponent to react in time, then smashed across the field to score and win in a situation where the two sides kept dropping small to equalize 17-17.

Thuy Linh then made an accurate judgment, dropped the ball when the opponent pushed deep, raising the score to 20-19. However, she then missed the first set-point when hitting out. The drama was pushed to the climax when the two players continuously saved the set-point and then took the lead. The turning point of the game took place when Thuy Linh dropped to take a 26-25 lead and then pushed the bridge deep so that the opponent couldn't hit the net to win 27-25.

In the second game, Thuy Linh could not keep the effectiveness. She damaged herself a lot, leading to a constant chase, sometimes up to six points (3-9). Despite persistently chasing, equalizing 15-15 then 17-1, the Vietnamese player made consecutive mistakes at an important moment. She hit the shuttlecock three times outside and missed the net for Pitchamon to win 21-18.

In the decisive third game, Pitchamon started badly, leading 0-4. When Thuy Linh led 5-2, the home player hit the shuttlecock outside, but the referee told him inside and still gave the score. Thuy Linh reacted but did not change the decision because the tournament did not apply technology to be able to review the situation.

The game then became tense, the players took turns leading and then equalized. Thuy Linh had more luck after changing the course in the middle of the game. She had a situation where she hit the edge of the net and changed direction, causing Pitchamon to miss the equalizer 13-13. And in the situation where the rescue was lost and could not continue to move, the Thai opponent left the net without passing.

Entering the final scores, Thuy Linh showed more bravery. She dropped successfully to equalize 17-17 and then smashed as soon as the opponent raised the bridge slightly to lead 18-17, or smashed along the powerful rope, bringing the bridge to the edge of the 20-17 eating line. The number one female tennis player in Vietnam then won the match-point with an accurate drop.

Defeating Pitchamon, Thuy Linh won the right to the final of Thailand International Challenger. Her opponent in the final match was Japanese tennis player Takahashi Asuka.

Thuy Linh was born on November 20, 1997, won a gold medal at the national youth badminton championship at the age of 17. In 2018, she usurped the number one position in Vietnam of senior Vu Thi Trang. In 2020, thanks to the 42nd position in the world, the tennis player from Phu Tho village was represented in Vietnam at the 2021 Olympics - where she won two, lost one and finished second in the group stage.

The Thailand International Challenge 2023 badminton tournament, officially known as Toyota Gazoo Racing Thailand International Challenge 2023, will take place from March 7 to March 12. The tournament has more than 200 athletes participating in five events: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.

The prize pool of the tournament is 15,000 USD, of which the singles champion is 1,200 USD and the doubles champion is 1,350 USD.