Top Vietnamese badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh entered the second round of the Xiamenair Australian Badminton Open in Sydney on June 8.

Mimh defeated Takuma Ueda from Japan 21-13, 21-17 after 38 minutes in the first round of the men’s singles.

Minh’s girlfriend, Vu Thi Trang also beat Xiaoyu Liang of Singapore 21-18, 21-19 in 45 minutes in the women’s singles match.

Both Trang and Minh, who won the recent Vietnam International Challenge held in Hanoi, have qualified for the Olympic Games in Rio in August.

The Australian Open event is offering one of the most lucrative sporting prize pools in Australia, with US$736,000 up for grabs. It also gives athletes one of the last opportunities to earn world ranking points to compete and improve their seeding at the Rio Olympics.

The finals are on Sunday, June 12.

VNS