VietNamNet Bridge – Three Vietnamese badminton players including Nguyen Tien Minh, Pham Cao Cuong and Vu Thi Trang are competing in the US$15,000 2015 Bahrain International Challenge in Shaikh Khalifa from November 3 to 7.

Young player Pham Cao Cuong has to play a crunch encounter against no. 4 seed Wong Zi Liang Derek of Singapore in the first round.

Minh is named top seed of the men’s singles event for his 42nd rating on the world ladders. His first-round opponent will be underdog Sanjay Jaimy of Bahrain, who has yet to have a world ranking.

Real challenge is expected to arrive for Minh in the third round as he is likely to meet with world no. 94, Indra Bagus Ade Chandra of Italy, who is seeded 13th.

Vietnam’s top female player Vu Thi Trang will also have an easy first-round encounter as she only faces a much lower rated Sarah Joy Barredo from the Philippines.

Trang is expected to repeat the impressive result she achieved at the recent 2015 Bahrain International Series where she made the semifinal round before losing 1-2 to Malaysia’s Yang Li Lian.

Meanwhile, the opportunity to advance further seems to be very small for young player Pham Cao Cuong as he takes on no. 4 seed, Wong Zi Liang Derek of Singapore in the first round of play.

The five-day tournament is considered an ideal platform for Vietnam’s top two players, Nguyen Tien Minh and Vu Thi Trang, to accumulate points aimed at securing an official berth at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Nhan Dan