On the morning of December 7, Vietnam’s women’s badminton team kicked off their SEA Games 33 campaign in the team event with a match against Malaysia.

Under the team format, each side competes in five matches - three singles and two doubles.

Tasked with leading Vietnam’s charge, Nguyen Thuy Linh faced world No. 42 Karupathevan Letshanaa, Malaysia’s top-ranked female shuttler.

Thuy Linh started well, but Letshanaa found her rhythm and took control. After leveling the score at 13–13, the Malaysian player surged ahead, winning the first set 21–15.

The second set saw a much closer battle, with both players going point for point early on. At 5–5, Thuy Linh launched an impressive scoring streak, building a five-point lead. She maintained her advantage and closed the set with a decisive 21–10 victory.

In the final and deciding set, the match turned into a tense tug-of-war. Both players traded points, pushing the score to a dramatic 21–21 tie.

In those high-pressure moments, Thuy Linh’s composure shone through. The 1997-born athlete clinched the final two points to win 23–21, sealing a 2–1 overall victory.

Her inspiring performance gave the Vietnamese women’s team a confidence boost as they continue their pursuit of team success at SEA Games 33.

Badminton at this year’s Games includes seven events: men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, mixed doubles, men’s team, and women’s team.

While Thuy Linh remains Vietnam’s top hope in women’s singles, fans are also watching rising talents such as Nguyen Hai Dang and Le Duc Phat in men’s singles, and the doubles pair of Tran Dinh Manh and Nguyen Dinh Hoang for potential surprises.

Dai Nam