Nguyen Thuy Linh will be the highest seed of the hosts in the Ciputra Hanoi - Yonex Sunrise Vietnam International Challenge 2023 next week. (Photo: VNA) This annual event will feature more than 300 local andinternational athletes from 17 countries and territories, who will compete infive categories, including men's and women's singles and doubles, as well asmixed doubles.
Tay Ho district’s gymnasium will be the venue for this highlyanticipated tournament.
The winner of each event will be awarded 1,200 USD, while therunners-up will get 750 USD. Cash bonuses will also be given to semi-finalistsand quarter-finalists. Prizes total 15,000 USD.
"This is the 12th year of the tournament, which has made upits name as a prestigious event in the continent and has been highlyappreciated by the Badminton World Federation and Asian BadmintonFederation," said Pham Xuan Tai, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Departmentof Culture and Sports.
"We have received several high-ranking athletes to Hà Nội inthe previous events, which was an official tournament of the BWF and deliveredranking points to participants," he said.
"To date, we have been in the final touches of thepreparation and promise that athletes will be given the best conditions fortheir competition."
The event, which was cancelled for the last few years because ofthe pandemic, will feature many top athletes from around the world, includingworld No 37 Heo Kwaee Hee of the Republic of Korea, who is the No 1 seed in themen's side, and No 46 Sim Yu Jin of the Republic of Korea, the top candidate ofthe women's class.
The leading men's doubles are the Indonesian pair Gutama SabarKaryaman and Isfahani Moh Reza Pahlevi, currently world No 50.
Vietnam's best badminton stars will also participate in thetournament.
World No 49 Nguyen Thuy Linh is seeded No 2 in the women's singlescategory, which is the highest ranking of the hosts.
Linh won the Yonex-Sunrise Vietnam Open 2022 last October andfinished second in the Thailand Challenger last week. She is expected to playwell on home ground and make the world's top 40.
Others are rising star Vu Thi Anh Thu and Olympian Vu Thi Trang inthe women's side and former world No 5 Nguyen Tien Minh, as well as Le Duc Phatand Nguyen Hai Dang in the men's pool.
In the last edition in 2019, Firman Abdul Kholik of Indonesia wonthe men's singles, and Japanese Hirari Mizui took the women's singlestitleIZUI.
The men's and women's doubles golds went to Indonesian Kenas AdiHaryanto, Rian Agung Saputro, Hiroki Midorikawa and Natsu Saito of Japan. NitaViolina Marwah and Putri Syaikah bagged the mixed doubles titles for Indonesia./.
VNA
