Hanoi 1 crowned men's team champions, HCM City 1 win women's event

ABO/NDO – Hanoi 1 took the top honour of the men’s team event at the ongoing 36th Nhan Dan Newspaper National Table Tennis Championships after brilliantly defeating Hai Duong 1 with a score of 3-1 in a nail-biting final match at Da Lat city’s 29-Yersin Gymnasium on May 24.

Hanoi 1 players celebrate their men's team crown.

Hai Duong 1 marked their return to the title match after six years, with three national team members, while Hanoi 1 only had one national team member in its lineup, Nguyen Anh Tu.

Hai Duong’s top player, Doan Ba Tuan Anh, suffered a surprise loss (11-13, 11-13, 6-11) to lower-rated Nguyen Trung Kien in the first singles clash of the final match, before Nguyen Duc Tuan equalised in a second-clash victory over the Hanoi star Nguyen Anh Tu (11-8, 11-8, 11-9).

Le Dinh Duc made it 2-1 for Hanoi 1 by beating Hai Duong’s Vu Quang Hien 11-9, 11-6, 11-5 in the third game.

The fourth clash saw a top-flight competition between the two strongest players of both sides, Doan Ba Tuan Anh and Nguyen Anh Tu. Tu came very close to taking victory, winning the first two sets of 11-5, 12-10. However, Tuan Anh produced a spectacular comeback, equalising the score at 2-2 with 11-4, 11-7 victories.

In the decisive game, Anh Tu proved himself as Vietnam’s no. 1 player by handling Tuan Anh 11-5, thus sealing the overall men’s team crown for Hanoi 1 with a 3-1 triumph on aggregate.

HCM City 1 successfully defended their women’s team title thanks to the superior performance of Vietnam’s no. 1 female player, Mai Hoang My Trang, who contributed two wins to HCM City’s 3-1 final victory against the Army team.

In something of a surprise in the mixed doubles competition, the 2017 bronze medalists, Dinh Quang Linh and Vu Thi Ha of the Army team, crashed out early in the opening round, losing 2-3 to young duo Nguyen Van Ngoc and Bui Ngoc Lan of Hai Duong 2.

The two semifinal matches of the men’s doubles category will be Dinh Duy/Tran Phu (HCM City 2) – Huy Hoang/Hong Khanh (Hanoi T&T) and Tuan Quynh/Anh Tu (Hanoi 1) – Anh Hoang/Anh Duc (Hanoi T&T).

The women’s doubles semifinals will see My Trang/Thanh Thu (HCM City 1) play Nguyen Thi Nga/Da Thao (Hanoi 2), while Dieu Khanh/Yen Nhi (HCM City 1) will take on Dinh Thi Hue/Thu Ha (Hai Duong).

(Source: NDO)