Introduced to badminton by his father at the early age of 10, Nguyen Tien Minh was immediately captivated by the sport and its graceful movements.
The interest soon developed into a passion which led to Nguyen's crucial decision in 2001 when the athlete was 18 years old: to take on the path of becoming a professional badminton player instead of carrying on his education as his family wished.
The young man's determination soon demonstrated its fruitful aspects when Nguyen was recruited into the national team in the same year. However, Nguyen's career did not become well known nation-wide until 2002 when he, at the age of 19, victoriously defeated the long time national champion, Phu Cuong Nguyen, and seized the gold medal for the men single category.
Nevertheless, despite all of Nguyen's painstaking endearment and awe-inspiring progress, the badminton player was receiving a salary of less than 150 US dollars a month, as most Vietnamese athletes were at the time. Now, after 9 years of contributing to the nation's sport team, while his ranking has been progressing significantly and rapidly, Nguyen's income has only been increased by around 50 dollars! This fact further contributes to the wonder of Nguyen's never ceasing improvement and to the spectacle of his flaming spirit, considering the premium and professional conditions the world's top players are being trained in.
These athletes, with incomes much higher than that of Nguyen's, normally have specially assigned specialists to look after their every aspect, such as diet, injuries, endurance training, etc., not to mention all the top ranking sporting facilities provided for by the government. On the other side of the scale, Nguyen has been trained in an environment with nothing but poor equipments and has to rely mostly on his family's financial support, the cherished effort of his few coaches, and the quiet contribution of his team mates.
The underdeveloped sporting system of Vietnam does not falter the athlete; his unwavering spirit is impenetrable against all the odds he has to face. Now, at the age of 26, Nguyen Tien Minh currently ranks 15th worldwide and still goes on striking generations of badminton lovers around the globe with not only awe but also inspirations. There is no doubt that the athlete will even further improve his ranking in the future, as he is portrayed by a common description in his home country, "the athlete with a herculean progress".
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