The national tennis team is facing problems just ahead of the most important sports event of the year - the Southeast Asian Games 2009.

Dai Trang, one of the two players who refused to take part in the tournament in Cambodia.

Ngo Quang Huy, one of the leading men’s tennis players in Vietnam, recently sent a letter to Tuoi Tre Daily to highlights the problems.

“It’s not because I was rejected from the tennis team to the SEA Games 25^th that I raise my voice. As an insider, I want to speak out about the situation to show everyone what is happening,” Huy wrote.

What is happening, according to Huy, is that the Vietnam Tennis Federation’s officials aren’t practicing what they preach.

In meetings of the federation executive board, General Secretary Tran Ngoc Linh always called for new blood for the national team and to give priority to young players at the SEA Games.

However, the list of nine players who will participate in the Games has only four young players, including Nguyen Thuy Dung, Tran Lam Anh, Huynh Phuong Dai Trang (women’s team) and Bui Tri Nguyen. The remaining faces – Do Minh Quan, Huynh Chi Khuong, Le Quoc Khanh, Hoang Thanh Trung and Huynh Mai Huynh – are over 25 years old.

Hoang Thanh Trung mainly works as a tennis instructor. Le Quoc Khanh and Huynh Chi Khuong both work as tennis instructors and tennis players.

Minh Quan is studying at the Sports and Physical Training University while Huynh Mai Huynh is studying to become a coach to prepare for her future.

According to Huy, Hoang Thanh Trung, 27, was suddenly chosen for the upcoming SEA Games because at the recent Men Future tournament in Binh Duong province, he got a lucky draw and faced a low rankin rival and earned an international point.

Huy also said the Vietnam Tennis Federation didn’t have any specific plans for a national tennis team before the SEA Games. Recently the federation sent players to a tournament in Cambodia to practice before the SEA Games. However, the Cambodian rivals were believed to be weak so Thuy Dung and Dai Trang refused to take part in this event.

The Vietnam Tennis Federation’s Tran Ngoc Linh told Tuoi Tre on November 25: “My consistent aim is to creat good conditions for young players to attend international events. Regarding the list of players for Sea Games, the federation’s chairman nominated the youngest and the most outstanding players. I don’t want to discuss the trip to Cambodia”.

VietNamNet/Tuoi Tre