Lookatvietnam – Its been a good start to the new year for athletes Nguyen Tien Minh and Nguyen Hoang Thien.

Teen titan: Nguyen Hoang Thien brought home the silver medal in men’s singles at the the Asian U-14 Tennis Championship in Malaysia last week. The medal was the first in Viet Nam’s sport of the new year.

His father found that his son was good with a tennis ball and gave him some lessons in the basics.

After two-years of training, Thien clinched his first-ever title at the National U-10 Tennis Championship. After two years of training with his father, Thien was sent to train at the Saddle Brook Tennis Academy in Florida, United States. Now he is training in HCM City with a coach.

At the Asian U-14 Tennis Championship (Group 2), Thien gave a very impressive performance, but lost in the final to Amer Naow of Syria 0-2 to take silver.

To help Thien reach his dream, Thien’s father has saved more than US$1 million to pay for his sons training. His father also employs a foreign coach at about $50,000 per year.

According to the International Tennis Federation’s January rankings, Thien is still the top player in the Asia U-14 category. He is ranked 183rd in Asian Juniors and 700th in International Tennis Federation.

Tien Minh aims for top 15

Tien Minh was the first Vietnamese player to compete abroad this year. He didn’t take any medals, but is continuing to walk the road of success.

Despite an all-out effort, Beijing Olympian Minh lost to the world No 1 seed, Lee Chong Wei, in the second round of the Proton Malaysia Open Badminton Super Series in Kuala Lumpur.

After this tournament, Minh gained 39,926 points and was ranked 16th in the men’s singles by the World Badminton Federation.

Breaking into the top 15 will be difficult, but is a realisable goal for Minh.

The Viet Nam and HCM City Badminton Federation plan to support Minh with VND700 million ($41,000), so he can compete in international tourneys this year.

Like Thien, Minh said that his family’s support has been crucial to his success.

Minh’s parents said that they are ready to provide money for Minh to train and compete abroad.

With the support of their families, Thien and Minh will be able to develop their passion and talent to the fullest.

The Viet Nam Olympic Committee is planning to apply for an investment fellowship for top Vietnamese players to train for the 2012 Olympics. The committee is sending a list of athletes to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) which will give out the fellowships in August. Minh and Thien are leading candidates on this list.

(Source: Viet Nam News)