Vietnam's best badminton player wins Olympic berth

Vietnam's No.1 badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh is certain to grab a slot at the approaching Rio Olympic Games, the Vietnam Badminton Federation said Wednesday.

Minh, born in 1983, is ranked the 16th in the latest ranking compiled by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), and the BWF will choose over 30 players for Rio Olympics.

When the BWF announces the official berth on Thursday, Minh will become the first Vietnamese to participate in three consecutive Olympic Games, the local federation said, noting he had taken part in the previous two Games in Beijng 2008 and London 2012.

Vietnam has so far won 16 berths to the 2016 Olympics, including three in weightlifting, two in shooting, one in swimming, two in wrestling, one in race walking, three in fencing, two in gymnastics, and two in rowing.