Golfer Doan Xuan Khue Minh is the youngest player in the Vietnam sport delegation at the upcoming SEA Games. (Photo: golfplus.vn) Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam will send seven young golfers, ofaverage age 18, to take part in the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games inMalaysia.
Four of them will compete in the games for the first time,including Doan Xuan Khue Minh, 14; Nguyen Hung Dung, 16; Hanako Kawasaki, 17;and Nguyen Phuong Toan, 18. They will compete alongside veterans Truong Chi Quan,19, Do Le Gia Dat, 23, and Nguyen Thao My, 19.
These young aces are expected to bring a breath of fresh air tothe national team.
Four of the young golfers represent the promising junior golfgeneration in Vietnam. Dung and Toan have been trained in prestigious golf institutesin the United States. Minh is training at the Leadbetter GolfAcademy in Hanoi.
Meanwhile,Hanako, who has both Vietnamese and Japanese antecedents, has not beenpractising in any academies, but she is the defending champion at the nationalwomen’s golf tournament and Vietnam Junior Open.
Earlier,Vietnamese sports authorities decided to select only golfers under 25 for thenational team to compete in the games.
Nguyen Quoc Hung,head of golf section in the National Sports Administration, explained: “In therecent years, most winners at the national tournaments were very young. Theyare trained well abroad. Selecting young golfers is a big investment for Vietnamgolf in the future.”
Hanako has been namedin the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). She is the secondVietnamese woman golfer to be named in the WAGR, behind Ngo Bao Nghi.
“Hanako is one ofVietnam’s best woman golfers now. At the event in Malaysia, Hanako and My areexpected to bring home medals for the women’s team,” said Hung.
My is not anunknown name in Vietnamese golf. She competed in the SEA Games in Singapore twoyears ago and won the national women’s events in 2014 and 2015. In the VietnamJunior Open (VJO) 2017, My ranked second in women’s Group E.
According to Hung,besides Hanako and My, Quan is also a medal hope for Vietnam in the men’ssingles.
Quan is athree-time national amateur champion in 2014-16. At the VJO this year, he tookthe lead in men’s Group E. At the SEA Games two years ago, he ranked 18 out of34 players in the men’s singles.
In the regional tournament, Thai players arearch rivals. They dominated in all the four categories — women’s and men’ssingles and the team event in the previous games. Besides Thailand, Malaysia,Singapore and the Philippines are also strong teams.
“In recent years, thanks to coaching in golfinstitutes, especially in the US, Vietnamese golfers’ achievements haveimproved, but there is still a gap in the standards displayed by Vietnamese andregional players. However, we hope that Vietnam will take a leap in theupcoming games,” Hung said.
Minh, 14, is the youngest player in the Vietnamsport delegation at the upcoming games.
Minh, who has played golf for three years, beatTran Chieu Duong, national tournament silver medallist, during the selection toearn a slot to compete in the games.
“I am very happy to take part in the regionalevent. I will try my best to have the best result at the event,” Minh said.
According to coach Nguyen Huy Tien, whodiscovered Minh’s talent, Minh has good physical strength and skills. If she isinvested carefully, she will be a leading player for the country in the future.
To prepare forthe games, the Vietnamese players have had an intensive training in Malaysia.Now they are training in Ho Chi Minh City, before leaving for Malaysia onAugust 19.
The golf event inthe games will be held from August 22 to August 24.-VNA
Four of them will compete in the games for the first time,including Doan Xuan Khue Minh, 14; Nguyen Hung Dung, 16; Hanako Kawasaki, 17;and Nguyen Phuong Toan, 18. They will compete alongside veterans Truong Chi Quan,19, Do Le Gia Dat, 23, and Nguyen Thao My, 19.
These young aces are expected to bring a breath of fresh air tothe national team.
Four of the young golfers represent the promising junior golfgeneration in Vietnam. Dung and Toan have been trained in prestigious golf institutesin the United States. Minh is training at the Leadbetter GolfAcademy in Hanoi.
Meanwhile,Hanako, who has both Vietnamese and Japanese antecedents, has not beenpractising in any academies, but she is the defending champion at the nationalwomen’s golf tournament and Vietnam Junior Open.
Earlier,Vietnamese sports authorities decided to select only golfers under 25 for thenational team to compete in the games.
Nguyen Quoc Hung,head of golf section in the National Sports Administration, explained: “In therecent years, most winners at the national tournaments were very young. Theyare trained well abroad. Selecting young golfers is a big investment for Vietnamgolf in the future.”
Hanako has been namedin the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). She is the secondVietnamese woman golfer to be named in the WAGR, behind Ngo Bao Nghi.
“Hanako is one ofVietnam’s best woman golfers now. At the event in Malaysia, Hanako and My areexpected to bring home medals for the women’s team,” said Hung.
My is not anunknown name in Vietnamese golf. She competed in the SEA Games in Singapore twoyears ago and won the national women’s events in 2014 and 2015. In the VietnamJunior Open (VJO) 2017, My ranked second in women’s Group E.
According to Hung,besides Hanako and My, Quan is also a medal hope for Vietnam in the men’ssingles.
Quan is athree-time national amateur champion in 2014-16. At the VJO this year, he tookthe lead in men’s Group E. At the SEA Games two years ago, he ranked 18 out of34 players in the men’s singles.
In the regional tournament, Thai players arearch rivals. They dominated in all the four categories — women’s and men’ssingles and the team event in the previous games. Besides Thailand, Malaysia,Singapore and the Philippines are also strong teams.
“In recent years, thanks to coaching in golfinstitutes, especially in the US, Vietnamese golfers’ achievements haveimproved, but there is still a gap in the standards displayed by Vietnamese andregional players. However, we hope that Vietnam will take a leap in theupcoming games,” Hung said.
Minh, 14, is the youngest player in the Vietnamsport delegation at the upcoming games.
Minh, who has played golf for three years, beatTran Chieu Duong, national tournament silver medallist, during the selection toearn a slot to compete in the games.
“I am very happy to take part in the regionalevent. I will try my best to have the best result at the event,” Minh said.
According to coach Nguyen Huy Tien, whodiscovered Minh’s talent, Minh has good physical strength and skills. If she isinvested carefully, she will be a leading player for the country in the future.
To prepare forthe games, the Vietnamese players have had an intensive training in Malaysia.Now they are training in Ho Chi Minh City, before leaving for Malaysia onAugust 19.
The golf event inthe games will be held from August 22 to August 24.-VNA
VNA
