VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese badminton players may win more slots in the main draw when the Yonex-Sunrise Viet Nam Grand Prix Open 2010 kicks off today, Sept 5, with qualifying matches.

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Local players along with players from 13 other countries will fight for 24 slots in all five events: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.

In the men's singles qualification, Nguyen Hoang Giang and Nguyen Huynh Thong Thao are hopefuls while Nguyen Thi Sen, who won a bronze medal in the Youth Olympics in Singapore in August, is likely to enter the main draw.

The Ha Noi-based pair of Nguyen Ngoc Tung and Tran Duc Phong is a strong contender for the men's doubles main draw.

Viet Nam already secured four slots in the women's doubles, as all pairs in the qualification are local.

In the mixed doubles event, Nguyen Hoang Hai and Le Thi Thanh Thuy will stand a chance to advance to the main draw.

The tournament, which was launched in 2008, has a total cash prize of US$50,000. This year there are a total of 274 players.

The main draw matches will take place tomorrow and the men's and women's singles champions will receive $3,750 each, while the doubles winners will pocket $3,950 each.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News