Pham Van Hai - Than Van Anh: “golden” racket pair

Updated: 22:40, 20/05/2024

For many years of pairing, badminton players Pham Van Hai and Than Van Anh have won hundreds of medals in national arenas. Currently, the young pair is considered one of the brightest pairs in the Vietnamese badminton, with many opportunities to develop and go further.

Pham Van Hai was born in 2001 in Dong Son commune, Bac Giang city. In 2009, discovering his outstanding talent in badminton when he was in third grade, the provincial Center for Sports Training and Competition selected him to join the provincial badminton team.

Racket pair Pham Van Hai and Than Van Anh.

For many years, Hai's parents took turns shuttling him to the center. They have always created conditions and supported Hai to compete in domestic tournaments. In 2011, Hai participated in the National Youth Badminton Championship and won the gold medal in the men's doubles event. In the following years, he bagged many gold medals in national junior and youth tournaments.

Than Van Anh, who was born in 2003 in Dinh Ke ward, Bac Giang city, has competed at many tournaments and won a number of high prizes. In 2013, like Hai, Van Anh was selected to join the province's badminton team.

With the guidance of the coaching staff, Van Anh increasingly improved her competition skills. The bronze medal at the 2013 National Youth Badminton Championship was a reward and also an affirmation of the professional progress of the 10-year-old girl.

The passion, perseverance, serious competition attitude and spirit, and constant efforts have helped the young pair increasingly assert themselves. Since 2016, the pair, representing the Bac Giang badminton team, have regularly been selected to compete in the mixed doubles event in national, Southeast Asian and Asian tourneys.

Pham Van Hai and Than Van Anh (right) compete at the National Top Badminton Players Championship 2023 in Bac Giang.

Since becoming members of the province's badminton team participating in national badminton tournaments, Pham Van Hai and Than Van Anh have won about 100 medals of all kinds, more than half of which are gold medals. Currently, they are considered the top players in the Vietnamese badminton.

In 2024, Bac Giang badminton players, including Pham Van Hai and Than Van Anh, are set to participate in more than 10 domestic and foreign tournaments.

The young pair’s goal is to defend gold medals they obtained in 2023 in national youth championship and tournaments for outstanding badminton players. For continental tournaments, they will try their best to improve their techniques and tactics, creating breakthroughs in future tourneys.

Cong Doanh