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Minh draws first blood at Rio Olympics

Việt Nam’s Nguyễn Tiến Minh beat Russia’s Vladimir Malkov  二- 一 ( 一 五- 二 一,  二 一- 九,  二 一- 一 三) in a Group E match at the Rio Olympics yesterday. — Photo VTV

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s Nguyễn Tiến Minh beat Vladimir Malkov of Russia  二- 一 ( 一 五- 二 一,  二 一- 九,  二 一- 一 三) in a Group E match at the Rio Olympics yesterday.

Minh had a good start in the initial minutes of the first set when he was leading  七- 四, but Vladimir Malkov regained his momentum to draw  九- 九 before winning the set  二 一- 一 五 in  一 八 minutes.

Minh, Việt Nam’s top player, then regained his power to lead the score  一 六- 七 in the second set. He did not make any mistake to tie the game with a  二 一- 九 win in the second set in  一 七 minutes.

In the decisive third set, Minh, ranked  三 三rd in the world, was leading  一 一- 七. He then scored  一0 consecutive points to take the set  二 一- 一 三 and win the game. In an earlier group match, two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan of China beat Austria’s David Obernorsterer  二-0 ( 二 一- 五,  二 一- 一 一).

Minh will play two more games with Obernorsterer and tough opponent Lin Dan.

Minh is the first Vietnamese player to compete in his third consecutive Olympics. — VNS