LookAtVietnam – Nguyen Tien Minh came from behind to beat Sho Sasaki of Japan 2-1 in his opening match at the Aviva Singapore Super Series yesterday, June 10.

Nguyen Tien Minh.

Although Minh is the world No 11, he struggled to take command in the second set against Sasaki, who is 15 places below him on the world.

Eventually, it went to 19-all before Minh, who has just taken part in a two-week training course, went ahead to win the set 21-19.

Minh found his form in the third set, winning 21-9 to take the match in 46 minutes.

He will next play Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, the tournament No 1 and world No 1 or Andrew Smith of England later yesterday. It is expected that Lee will play Minh at 8pm tonight in the second round.

Minh’s teammate Le Ngoc Nguyen Nhung was eliminated from the tournament on Tuesday after losing 10-21, 20- 22 to Mingtina Fu of Singapore in the second match of the qualifying round.

The loss was no surprise, Nhung, who is ranked No 108 in the world, has just returned after several months off. She was also up against an opponent who is ranked No 55 in the world.

Earlier, Nhung defeated Singaporean Ting Ting 19-21, 21-10, 21-17.

The annual US$200,000 Aviva Singapore Open has attracted 255 players from 28 countries and territories. The finals are on Sunday.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News