Another article on Nguyen Tien Minh..
..is his coach, Nguyen Anh Hoang??..
Btw, here's an interesting article (might be an old news) on Nguyen Tien Minh & the struggles he (as well as the VBF) has to go through to receive quality coaches.
http://www.thanhniennews.com/sports/?catid=5&newsid=38734
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Vietnamese badminton struggles to find good coaches
Nguyen Tien Minh, one of two Vietnamese badminton stars who have qualified for the Beijing Olympics in August
Vietnam now has two outstanding badminton players Nguyen Tien Minh and Le Ngoc Nguyen Nhung who have qualified for the Beijing Olympics in August.
Yet, there is still concern about the future of Vietnamese badminton as there is no one to replace the two stars when they retire.
Worse still, critics say the training of junior players is not what is should be.
There are not enough qualified instructors and no long-term training plan.
Hiring from outside
Five years back when the 22nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games took place in Vietnam in 2003, Vietnamese badminton managers had ambitious dreams.
To take the sport to the next level, they invited Chinese instructor Yan Shi Qiang to coach both the men’s and women’s teams, and the decision paid off.
For the first time ever, the women’s team won a bronze medal at the SEA Games.
Qiang focused his coaching efforts on Minh and Nhung and they continued to improve markedly.
The Chinese instructor was employed by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Sports from 2002-2004, but eventually left owing to disputes with leaders at the Vietnam Badminton Federation (VBF).
Lack of quality instructors
VBF officials have long wanted to find a good instructor for Minh and Nhung to help them further improve their abilities and play at higher-level competitions like the Satellite, Challenger, Open and Super Series.
They believe there are just a few good local instructors and even the best, they say, are far from world-class.
And the state of youth training is even more of a concern, according to officials.
A lack of qualified instructors means that even with good training plans, teams are unable to carry out their goals.
Regional badminton experts say they are surprised to see the level at which Vietnamese athletes perform.
Most players, they say, lack even the most basic techniques.
The current coach of Vietnam’s national badminton team Nguyen The Huy said, “It takes a lot of time to help the young players with techniques and strategies. They are gifted players, but they didn’t have a good start when they began to learn to play badminton. It is a thorny problem for Vietnamese badminton.”
Financial hindrances
Vietnamese badminton managers know their training skills are not up to par, but they are also acutely aware of the dearth of good instructors.
Yet to hire skilled foreign coaches would require much more funding than is currently available for the sport, they said.
Last year, the HCMC Badminton Department invited former world number one Supianto from Indonesia to come and train Tien Minh.
The Indonesian accepted the invitation but asked for a monthly salary of US$4,500, which was more than the city department could afford, and so the plan came to an end.
A few years ago, Vietnam sent players to Indonesia for short-term training as an alternative.
Instructors there suggested Vietnam develop better long-term plans and suggested it would be a better option than the short-term trips.
When Minh and Nhung won places at the Beijing Olympics, the VBF again invited Chinese coach Qiang to instruct the athletes.
However, many speculate that Qiang’s return is just a temporary plan and say Vietnamese badminton needs a bigger overhaul including quality instructors and a long-term vision.
Additionally, the sport needs to focus on other areas besides just training Minh and Nhung, say critics.
By training young players well, it will ensure there is a new generation of professional athletes to replace Minh and Nhung when they retire.
BADMINTON LEADERS SPEAK OUT
■ VBF Secretary Le Thanh Sang said, “Local instructors are not excellent. They can’t train professional players so it’s necessary to invite foreign instructors. We will find good instructors for the national team; but we haven’t been able to find one yet because good instructors don’t want to come to Vietnam. Also, in the future, we will find foreign instructors to help local instructors with the coaching.”
■ Current national badminton team head coach Nguyen The Huy said, “It’s important to employ foreign instructors. Vietnamese players and instructors can learn from them. Chinese instructor Yan Shi Qiang is the best instructor Vietnam has employed, I think. He helped Tien Minh improve a lot and reach his current ranking in the world. I also learned a lot from him when I worked with him at HCMC team and the national team.”
Reported by Le Quang