Vietnam’s World No5 badminton player failed to defend his Taiwan Open Grand Prix Gold championship title, losing 1-2 to the Republic of Korean rival Son Wan Ho in the final game on September 8. Minh, who took the tournament’s trophy twice, outplayed his rival in the first set, but did not sustain his physical strength in the following two sets. Son performed well in the second set with skilful attacks, securing a 21-9 landslide victory. He maintained the lead and ended the third set with a score of 21-18 despite all-out efforts from the Vietnamese player. With the defeat, Minh missed the chance to claim the title for the third time and go down in history as the first player to win the tournament three times. Son, world No 223, is an experienced Korean badminton player who used to stay in 12th place globally. He has just returned to international competitions after serving in the army for a year. He took home a cash prize worth US$15,000 while Minh pocketed US$7,600. VOV