The Vietnam Badminton Federation (VBF) held a congress for its fifth term (2011-2015) at the My Dinh National Convention Centre in Hanoi on September 11, during which Le Dang Xu, President of the Executive Board and General Director of the Joint Stock Construction Company No 1, was elected as the new VBF chairman.

New chairman of the Vietnam Badminton Federation Le Dang Xu

The congress was attended by former Prime Minister and VBF Chairman Phan Van Khai; Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Anh Tuan; and Hoang Binh Quan, Head of the Party Central Committee Commission for External Affairs, among others.

During its last term, the VBF made remarkable progress in increasing the number of tournaments and training international standard badminton players.

In his speech, Mr Khai praised the country’s enthusiasm for badminton and called on the VBF to develop the sport further by sending players to take part in international tournaments and training coaches and referees with the goal of making the Vietnamese badminton team one of the top four teams in the region. It should also help Nguyen Tien Minh retain his ranking among the top ten in the Badminton World Federation (BWF).

On the occasion, Mr Khai was awarded the Culture, Sports and Tourism insignia while Vietnam’s top badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh, who ranks seventh in the world, was honoured with the Labour Order, third class, in recognition of his contributions to sports in the country.