In a significant milestone for Vietnamese sports, badminton player Le Duc Phat has officially secured his spot as the eighth athlete from Vietnam to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
On April 16, the Olympic qualifying rankings were updated, placing Duc Phat at 35th in the group competing for Olympic spots, with a total of 23,630 points.
Despite a drop of three places, he remains within the top echelons as the 41st out of 41 athletes in the men’s singles rankings (top 38 + 3). His Olympic spot comes as a Reallocation slot, a provision used to ensure all continental spots are filled.
This qualification scenario unfolded as Toma Junior Popov (France), Vinson Chiu (USA), and Seo Seung Jae (South Korea) secured two Olympic spots each across three events: men’s singles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles. To maintain the required number of 86 male badminton players at the Olympics, the BWF allocates additional slots to men’s singles. Additionally, federation spots are awarded within the top 250 in singles and top 50 in doubles rankings.
Given that no other nation in Oceania, besides Australia and New Zealand, met the qualifications, Duc Phat’s placement at the Olympics was confirmed, marking him as the first military athlete from Vietnam to qualify for Paris this summer, overcoming an injury in the middle of the qualifying rounds to make a strong comeback.
To date, Vietnam’s delegation to the Paris Olympics includes athletes across multiple disciplines: Nguyen Thi That (cycling), Trinh Thu Vinh and Le Thi Mong Tuyen (shooting), Vo Thi Kim Anh (boxing), Nguyen Huy Hoang (swimming), Trinh Van Vinh (weightlifting), Nguyen Thuy Linh and Le Duc Phat (badminton).
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