Vietnam’s top male badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh will take on his first international challenge of the new year at the VICTOR Korea Open Super Series from January 12-17.

Minh, ranked-11^th in the world, will take on 18^th-ranked Joachim Persson of Denmark in his first match at the open.

The only Vietnamese badminton player to enter the world’s top 100, minh moved to seventh place in the world men’s rankings in October, 2009.

However, he dropped to 11^th last month after failing to participate in international competitions for several months.

When Minh moved to 19^th in the world in April, the Sports Joint-stock Becamex Binh Duong Company began paying him VND20 million per month on the condition that he remain in the world’s top 25.

The amount rose to VND50 million when Minh became the world’s seventh-ranked player on condition that he would remain among the world’s top 10, though he has since lost the extra VND30 million.

Minh is currently training on his own as his trainer Indonesian badminton expert Asep Shuharno won’t arrive in Ho Chi Minh City until February.

Source: Thanh Nien, SGGP