Linh sets sights on representing Việt Nam at Olympics

Born in a family with five siblings in Phú Thọ Province in  一 九 九 七, Linh showed off her badminton talent since she was a little girl.

“I loved badminton and usually spent hours watching people playing and borrowed my grandfather’s racket to enjoy myself,” she said.

“After my triumphs at schools and hometown tournaments, my grandfather guided me to follow badminton as a pro player. When Phú Thọ had no good badminton movement, he sent me to Hà Nội when I was  一0,” said Linh who then won a series of titles in junior championships.

But two years later, she was forced to return home as her mother did not see a future for her as an athlete.

“I had to focus on my academic studies as my mother expected. But she could not stop me from playing. Sometimes I played truant to have time for ‘my love’, ignoring her anger,” Linh recalled.

In  二0 一 四, a year after her mother’s death, Linh was encouraged to play badminton again by her grandfather.

Months later she won her first national youth championship title which was a strong kick for her career.

But another blow came to Linh when her grandfather died in  二0 一 五.

He was her biggest fan and someone who encouraged her greatly by attending all of her matches.

“His companions in those journeys were different kinds of drugs to take care of his health when watching me compete. His greatest wish in life was my success with badminton,” she said.

Losing two close family members in two years was devastating but Linh was determined to make her mother and grandfather proud of her, so she put her personal interests and entertainment aside to focus totally on badminton.

“My life is around the shuttle and racket. I train twice per day, five days a week. I have to work harder ahead of tournaments. I don’t want to let people down because of my poor performance or lack of preparation,” she said.

Her efforts have been rewarded with amazing results.

Linh won her first international title at the Nepal International Series in  二0 一 六. Later she took titles at the Italian International, Lao International Series and Mongolian International Series in  二0 一 七, Bangladesh International Challenge in  二0 一 八 and  二0 一 九, Norway International and Hungarian International in  二0 一 九.

She made a big step in the world rankings and quickly became the national No  二 player behind long-time champion Trang. She was selected as a key athlete who would receive a strong investment to reach the world level.

“I never thought that the No  二 ranking was okay. I always wanted to be on top and represent Việt Nam at the Olympics,” said Linh who lost to Trang in two national finals in  二0 一 七 and  二0 一 八.

“Trang is a mirror that I look at every time to learn more, and also a finish line that I want to cross,” Linh said.

Linh said she believes that to be successful everyone needs to not just try really hard, but “ 一0 times harder than others”.

“It is not about wins or losses. Even losses help in some way. It is how we do it. If we do our best we will make it one day,” Linh said. VNS