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RISING IRISH STAR Nhat Nguyen has bowed out of the Paris Olympic Games after a plucky effort in what could have been a mismatched tie with reigning Olympic champion Victor Axelsen.
The 24-year-old Clarehall resident lost in two sets, 21-13, 21-10, after a strong opener which saw him take the lead at multiple moments in the first half of the first set.
“I felt I almost went too fast at the start, and once he kind of got a grip of my game after 11 [points each], it was difficult for me to try to stress him, or to break his rhythm again,” Nguyen told The 42 after the winner-takes-all match.
Both men had won their first two Group P ties and, in a quirk of the draw, the winner of the four-player group at Porte de la Chapelle Arena progressed to the quarter-final with the other going home.
Nguyen’s aggressive start saw him take the game to Axelsen, a deliberate strategy even included some ‘gamesmanship’ like shouting in his face.
“I did whatever I could, just to stress him at the start,” the Irish man explained. “And I felt I did that, but it was difficult for me when he raised his level, and when he raised his speed, for me to just keep playing at the high level, high speed, and to retrieve his smashes was quite difficult.”
The momentum shift at 11 points each in the first set was distinct. The lead changed in favour of the Dane, with Nguyen staring, dismayed, at the baseline as the shuttlecock landed inside the back boundary. He over-egged his next shot the other direction and from 13-11, there was only going to be one person getting to 21.
Axelsen’s skills, superiority and experience were on show during a rally at 17-12 with Nguyen covering every inch of the court while the 30-year-old athlete swatted back the shuttlecock with ease, eventually tiring the Dubliner out.
Nguyen regained composure in the second set, taking another 10 points off one of the favourites to win the competition out right.
Although finding himself flattened on the floor twice during the set, some of his points came off the back of smart and excellent shots. A particular standout saw the shuttlecock bypass the Dane down the line to bring it to 14-9.
But the difference in levels was unmistakable and Axelsen saw it out from there, acknowledging his delight at 17-10 with a swing of the racquet toward the 8,000-strong audience.
Axelsen was able to navigate seamlessly between delicate tips of the racquet to float the shuttlecock gently, just over the net, to Nadal-like smashes to land the feathers dead on the floor, ready for the sweepers to come collect the debris.
But Nhat wasn’t completely brushed over.
“I held my own, definitely, yeah,” Nguyen said post-game. “I was just trying my best to stay in there and to score points and just keep that rhythm going. But it’s very difficult for me to maintain that really high speed for one, two sets, three sets to be able to win.”
Despite showing up more strongly than in his last two matches against Axelsen, he believes he needs to become more familiar with players at this level.
“To be honest, I’ve done everything I could out there, left it all out on the court,” the now two-time Olympian said.
At 6’4”, the Dane towered over Nguyen’s 5’8” (Nhat gives himself ‘five-foot-seven-or-eight’ while the official Olympics site is more generous at 5’9”) throughout this morning’s session. A Scandinavian Spiderman, his arms spat out shuttlecocks without the rest of his body having to move.
“The height is both an advantage and a disadvantage,” he says with an audible sigh towards the international journalist who asked the question in the aftermath. “It really depends on how you train and how you move your body. Before I came here, there hasn’t been anyone near my height who has been winning the Olympic gold.
“So I think that I’ve shown that even though you’re tall and lanky like me, you can still play at a very high level and win the biggest tournaments and that’s one of the achievements I’m very proud of.”
Nguyen added that it is the beauty of the sport, having different body types and skill sets on show.
“So there’s this, you know, there’s good and bad, there’s pros and cons, but it’s an even game when you walk out there, it’s just whoever can handle the nerves, I guess.”
Although today wasn’t the day for a shock result, Nguyen has seen his own profile take a rapid upward trajectory in Ireland over the past week with people delighting in his impressive win over Nepal’s Prince Dahal and how he ground out a victory against Misha Zilberman of Israel.
He was aware of the buzz after Saturday night but “tried to focus” on the job ahead, even ignoring his family in the crowd. He did, however, notice that his mam wasn’t among the supporters in the stand today having exited the arena, too nervous to watch.
“But yeah, there’s been a lot of messages on my social media,” he said, many of which have probably referred to his nickname and Instagram handle, nhatchocheese, which has garnered much attention.
“I’ve kept my head down, just tried to focus on what I have to do here, but I will reply to them. It’s been super nice. The crowd here was amazing too. I could see my family, the Irish flags. An experience that I’ll probably never forget, and it felt like almost a home Olympics.”
He admits it’s early to start talking about the LA Olympics in 2028 but his plan is to be a better person and a better athlete – with a more developed game – in four years’ time.
“I won’t take that for granted, I have to work every single day,” he said. “It’s just, I can’t expect it to get better, you know, in four years’ time. So there’s a lot of work to be put in. But yeah, for me, next is just a little rest, recuperate, reset, then go back again, and, work on my fundamentals and basics again.”
It’s a future strategy endorsed by the Olympic champion. Axelsen told The Journal that he sees another Games for Nguyen.
“I very much like Nhat. I know him well. We have been training together a few times also and I know he works extremely hard and he wants it a lot. So I wish him all the best. Obviously, today we were competitors in every single way so I’m happy about the win, but this is definitely not his last Games. And hopefully he can continue to work out hard and increase his level. And I wish him all the best.”
Written by Sinead O’Carroll and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
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If the Palestinians want solutions to their problems they need to start at home. They have no leadership worth discussing. No point in having an independant state if you cant run it. While Israel is a large part of their problems they themselves inspire little confidence in peaceful co existance.
Meanwhile life goes on as normal
“In June, the Islamic Jihad held the “Generation of Faith” summer camp in Rafah for boys aged 6-16. The camp activities included various military exercises, such as “kidnapping soldiers,” firing guns using live ammunition, and crossing obstacle courses. The campers also heard lectures on religion, and were trained in various other fields, such as first aid, scouting, civil defense, martial arts, and behavior during emergencies”
Lovely. Mort’s post speaks volumes about the “downtrodden” Palestinians.
Much like the Israeli practice of military service then ?
If you were under military occasion for forty six years , military training might seem like a good idea too ?
6 year old boys being trained to kill, so sad.
The IDF have no problem shooting six year olds, even sadder.
What are you talking about Gavan? The IDF do not target children. Hamas on the other hand like to push their own children directly into harms way. Hamas also like to use imagery taken in other conflicts and claim it as something happening in either Gaza or in the West Bank. You’ve probably never been to either Palestine or Israel and just like spouting nonsense on a topic that you are completely clueless about.
Cowards hiding behind women and children. No backbone.
Yeah the Palestinians played up on that Muhammad al-Durrah “shooting” for years but the French Supreme court and a new review of France 2′s unedited footage have killed that lie. If, and it’s a very big if, he was shot the shots came from Palestinians. Then there are the numerous cases of them using pictures of dead and injured children from Syria and claiming them as Palestinians. Or the propaganda from Egyptian PM Kandil with the body of four year old Mahmoud Sadallah who they claimed was killed by the IAF, but the UN report found was hit by a Hamas rocket.
It’s you who seems to be both clueless and brainless Brian. The IDF have been murdering children for years , hundreds of them in both Palestine and surrounding countries, read the UN and other reports of the assault on Gaza if its not too much for you
And when Hamas fire rockets indiscriminately into Israel, what do you call that?
It is murder, the same as sending an F 16 or apache helicopter to bomb a civilian area
And when the rockets are fired from civilian areas, where should the response be directed?
That’s the standard excuse the IDF use,unfortunately it does not hold up, like when they attacked the UN base in Lebanon killing hundreds of people and the video evidence proved there had been no rocket fire from the base.
The UN and HRW are both on record accusing Hamas of firing indiscriminately into civilian areas, from civilian areas in the west bank, including a UN funded school. Using civilians as both targets and human shields are both considered war crimes.
The IDF use civilians as human shields, it is called the neighbour policy, and have committed more than their share of war crimes , including using white phosphorus depleted uranium munitions and the whole collective punishment of the Palestinian people, all considered war crimes under the Geneva convention.
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