The country’s four top badminton players will compete in the qualifying round of the world men’s team tournament – the Thomas Cup - in Thailand from February 22-28.

Vietnam’s top player Nguyen Tien Minh.

The four players, including, Nguyen Tien Minh, Nguyen Hoang Nam, Duong Bao Duc and Huynh Vinh, will play against competitors from 12 teams for one of seven places at the finals in Malaysia.

As the host of the tournament, Malaysia and the current champion, China, get tickets to the finals. Vietnam’s biggest rivals at the qualifying round will be Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand.

Vietnam’s women team has failed to qualify for the final round of the women’s event, the Uber Cup.

PV