Thuỳ Linh and ASIAD 20: The Harshness Goes Beyond the Court

Every summer, I think about the emptiness before victory. When Nguyen Thuy Linh told Dan Tri that the Asian Games are harsh and medals are not easy, she was not complaining—she was stating a truth that many fail to see. At the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, Thuy Linh will compete in her third consecutive Asian Games, having already appeared at two Olympics. But without foreign coaches, data analysts, and adequate funding, her dream remains uphill. I was at the Paris 2026 Olympics, where I saw a young Vietnamese runner compete timidly because of a flawed tactical plan. She did not lack stamina. She lacked information. She lacked a coach who could guide her in real time. That image came back to me as I listened to Thuy Linh’s words about the harshness of the Asian Games. The Vietnamese badminton team still relies heavily on individual effort. There is no regular foreign head coach, no dedicated video analyst, no sports psychologist. Meanwhile, rivals from Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea are backed by entire systems of science and technology. Physical fitness is not the main problem; the gap lies in preparation, data, and tactical support. Thuy Linh is a resilient, intelligent player. But resilience alone cannot beat the top five Asian players in consecutive knockout matches. She needs a system that she simply does not have. If she loses, many will say she is past her prime. Yet the deeper truth is that she has been asked to carry a national dream without a national infrastructure. We cannot build a strong badminton team with only one Nguyen Thuy Linh. The exhausting season taught me that even heroes need a backup bench. The Asian Games may be harsh for her, but it is also a mirror for all of us. The real question is not whether she wins a medal, but whether we are willing to look at our own reflection after the Games are over.