Sinead O'Carroll Reports from Paris

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.  

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“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.