Nguyen Tien Minh, often erroneously referred to as Nguyen Tien Minh, is a Vietnamese male badminton player born on February 12, 1983. He represents Ho Chi Minh City Club in Vietnam and won the men’s singles bronze medal at the 2013 Guangzhou World Championships.
He married Vu Thi Trang, his teammate on the Vietnamese national team, on December 26, 2016, in a ceremony held at a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. Nguyen Tien Minh participated in four Olympic Games: 2008 Beijing, 2012 London, 2016 Rio, and 2020 Tokyo, making him the only Vietnamese athlete to compete in four Olympics. He secured 10 consecutive national championships and holds 15 national men’s singles titles. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he lost 2-0 to Danish player Anders Antonsen in the men’s singles group stage. He has stated that he will retire after winning 500 international matches. He first encountered badminton at age 10 through his father and quickly developed a passion for the sport. At 18 in 2001, he decided to pursue a professional career and was selected for the Vietnamese national team the same year. Initially unknown, he gained fame in 2002 by defeating the long-reigning national champion. Despite Vietnam’s limited badminton development environment, he persevered. His men’s singles world ranking rose to No. 7 in 2009, later dropping to No. 11, but he returned to No. 7 from March 2010 onward. At the 2012 London Olympics, he competed in men’s singles, winning 2-1 against Belgium’s Tan Yuhan and losing 0-2 to India’s Kashyap Parupalli, exiting in the group stage with one win and one loss. In August 2013, he participated in the World Championships in Guangzhou as the No. 7 seed. In the semifinals, he faced defending champion Lin Dan, displaying resilient defense but ultimately losing 0-2 (17-21, 15-21) to settle for bronze, his best World Championships result. In March 2014, he won the Vietnam International Challenge by defeating Malaysia’s Chong Wei Feng, the No. 2 seed, 2-0 (21-17, 21-13) in the final. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, he lost 0-2 (7-21, 12-21) to Lin Dan in the men’s singles group stage, failing to advance.In March 2017, Nguyen Tien Minh competed in the Vietnam International Challenge, defeating Thailand’s second seed Khosit Phetpradab 2-0 (21-14, 21-17) in the final to successfully defend his men’s singles title.
At the 2019 Asian Championships, the 36-year-old Nguyen Tien Minh advanced to the men’s singles semifinals by walkover after Chen Long withdrew. He later lost to Kento Momota 18-21, 8-21 in the semifinals, earning a bronze medal. Career Achievements: • 2022 Vietnam International Challenge: Men’s Singles Semifinalist • 2022 Southeast Asian Games: Men’s Singles Bronze Medalist • 2019 Asian Championships: Men’s Singles Bronze Medalist • 2018 Singapore Open: Men’s Singles Semifinalist • 2017 U.S. Open Grand Prix Gold: Men’s Singles Semifinalist • 2017 Vietnam International Challenge: Men’s Singles Champion • 2016 Vietnam International Series: Men’s Singles Champion • 2016 Vietnam International Challenge: Men’s Singles Champion • 2016 Finnish Open: Men’s Singles Runner-up • 2016 New Zealand Grand Prix Gold: Men’s Singles Semifinalist • 2015 U.S. International: Men’s Singles Semifinalist • 2015 Sydney International: Men’s Singles Champion • 2015 White Nights: Men’s Singles Runner-up • 2014 Vietnam Grand Prix Gold: Men’s Singles Semifinalist • 2014 U.S. Grand Prix Gold: Men’s Singles Champion • 2014 Vietnam International Challenge: Men’s Singles Champion • 2013 Japan Super Series: Men’s Singles Semifinalist • 2013 Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold: Men’s Singles Runner-up • 2013 U.S. Grand Prix Gold: Men’s Singles Champion • 2013 World Championships: Men’s Singles Semifinalist • 2013 Singapore Super Series: Men’s Singles Semifinalist • 2012 Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold: Men’s Singles Champion • 2012 Vietnam Grand Prix: Men’s Singles Champion • 2012 Singapore Super Series: Men’s Singles Semifinalist • 2011 Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold: Men’s Singles Semifinalist • 2011 Vietnam Grand Prix: Men’s Singles Champion • 2011 U.S. Grand Prix Gold: Men’s Singles Runner-up • 2011 Malaysia Grand Prix Gold: Men’s Singles Semifinalist • 2010 Hong Kong Super Series: Men’s Singles Semifinalist • 2010 Australian Super Series: Men’s Singles Champion • 2010 Indonesia Super Series: Men’s Singles Semifinalist • 2010 Malaysia Super Series: Men’s Singles Semifinalist • 2009 Japan Super Series: Men’s Singles Semifinalist • 2008 Vietnam Open: Men’s Singles ChampionMen’s Singles Semifinalist – 2008 Chinese Taipei Badminton Open
Men’s Singles Champion – 2008 Vietnam International Challenge Men’s Singles Semifinalist – 2006 Vietnam Open Badminton Championships