Vietnam sure to have badminton berth at Olympic Games

HANOI, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's top badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh, who is performing well at Wilson Swiss Open Super Series, is sure to book a position at Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Minh beat South Korean player Lee Hyun Il, who ranks 10th in the world, 2-0 at the ongoing badminton tournament in Switzerland on March 12, local newspaper Youth said Thursday, stating that with the victory, he would surely secure a berth at the Olympic Games slated for August in Beijing.

To date, four athletes of Vietnam, including male table tennis player Doan Kien Quoc, and three taekwondo fighters -- Nguyen Van Hung, Hoang Ha Giang and Nguyen Hoai Thu, have officially gained berths at the games.

Vietnam bagged home the first-ever Olympic medal with 26-year-old woman athlete Tran Hieu Ngan taking a taekwondo silver medal at Sydney Olympic Games 2000.