'Badminton Iron Lady' Huynh Ngoc Lien's sacrifices for the sport
She is a familiar figure in the badminton fraternity, especially in Vietnam and the Asian region and at the age of 66 Huynh Ngoc Lien is still very much in love with the shuttle sport.
Dubbed the "Iron woman of badminton" in Ho Chi Minh City, Ngoc Lien is still the vice-chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Badminton Association - a post she has held from 1992 when she was the chief officer of Investment and Corporation Committee of HCM City.
Not many know of the sacrifices Ngoc Lien has made and is still making just for badminton despite her only son Alexander Duy Khai, aged 18, being an autistic and needs full time attention.
Married to an Australian, Jonathan Charles Wurth, a journalist, whom she met when was studying English in Sydney in 1995, the Iron Lady, tied the knot in 1996 at the age of 44 and gave birth to Alexander two years later in 1998.
"My son is autistic but I love him very much...so does my husband. He is our only child and we give him all our love and attention. We have also employed a full time caretaker to help us out in looking after Alexander.
"Each time he hits himself (which is normal in autism) I cry," said Ngoc Lien as tears rolled down her cheeks.
For the Robot Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships she heads the Technical Committee which keeps her busy till the matches for the day are over.
Ngoc Lien, who studied industrial management at the Plekhanonckuu University in Moscow from 1977 to 1983 after the war in Vietnam.
On her return from Moscow was appointed the personal secretary of vice-chairman of the Peoples Committee who was in charge of industries in the city, which led to her interest in the sport because the Committee Members of the Ho Chi Minh City Badminton Association (HCMC BA)loves the sport so much to the extend they played badminton on a daily basis. The Committee Members realised that they needed someone to manage badminton and approached Ngoc Lien to get her involved on a fulltime basis. This captivated her interest and the rest is history.
Her love for Jonathan came with a price as she lost government job because she married a foreigner, which is not allowed in Vietnam. She took the setback in her stride...just like she has done with many other setbacks. As upset as it can be, she found her true-calling in badminton, where she took a team of players under her wing, nurturing and taking care of them, in which she also brings them into the competitive badminton around the world. That is when the dawn in the growth of Vietnam badminton where players like Nguyen Tien Minh was born under her watch.
"I will be around in badminton as long as I can because I love badminton as much as I love my family," added Ngoc Lien, who has headed Vietnam badminton teams in various capacities for international tournaments. Her dedication and commitment to the sport is not only being recognised in her fatherland but also in the badminton fraternity around world.
"I am grateful to my husband who has not stopped me from staying away from badminton because he knows I love the sport."
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