The Yonex Sunrise Vietnam Open Badminton Cup 2008 yesterday opened at Phan Dinh Phung sports hall in Ho Chi Minh City.
The Vietnamese team lost 13 out of its 15 matches in five categories in the morning. The two wins belonged to Dao Manh Thang and Bui Dang Duc in the men’s singles. However, their rivals were from Cambodia and the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos, which are not regarded as strong badminton nations.
The performances of Vietnamese players didn’t improve over the rest of the day. Phuong Nhi was the only Vietnamese player to excel, with an emphatic 2-1 win over the eighth seeded player Kwan Yi from Hong Kong in the women’s singles.
The Thai team is not competing in the event because of the political upheaval in their country. Anti-government protesters seized control of Bangkok’s two main airports last week, virtually shutting down international air travel in and out of Thailand.