Vietnamese international umpire Nguyen Pham Duy Anh is one of the 24 badminton officials shortlisted for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
“It is a great honour and pride for me to be chosen for the Tokyo 2020 mission. Undoubtedly, performing tasks at this year’s Games will bring me a lot of new experiences, as this is the first time an Olympic version will take place without in-person spectators,” Anh said.
He has made the Badminton World Federation (BWF) shortlist after passing a selection process and meeting the needed requirements. In the past, Anh also officiated at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
Vietnamese sport previously had many international referees on duty at the Olympic arena, such as Vu Xuan Thanh in taekwondo (2000 and 2012 Olympics), Pham Anh Tan in fencing (2008 Olympics), Truong The Toan in men’s football (2004 Olympics), Phan Anh Tuan in table tennis (2004 Olympics), Vuong Trong Nghia in boxing (2012 and 2016 Olympics), and Bui Dinh Cuong in gymnastics (2012 Olympics). This year, Cuong continued to pass the rigorous tests of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and has been chosen to officiate at the Tokyo Games.
The referees at the Olympics must be competent and meet international standards as prescribed by the governing bodies in each sport. Vietnam’s former boxing referee Vuong Trong Nghia, who has worked at the Olympics twice, said: “The selection of referees for the Olympics is not easy and has many steps. Taking the Rio 2016 Olympics for instance, 300 international-level referees were arranged to run all pre-Olympic tournaments, with the best 34 having been shortlisted by the International Boxing Federation for the Games in Brazil. As one of those 34 selected referees, I felt very proud, as not all countries had international referees eligible for the Olympics.”
Meanwhile, former taekwondo international referee Dao Quoc Thang (currently the director of the Hanoi Senior Athlete Training Centre) recalled the time when he was selected to work at the 2004 Olympics. Thang said that, in order to be on the list of international referees to participate in the largest global multi-sport event, he had to pass physical and professional tests, as well as running a sufficient number of tournaments organised by the International Taekwondo Federation before the Olympic Games take place. The referee selection period lasted three months. The two most valuable experiences that Thang accumulated after his practical work at the Olympics were learning how to scientifically organise professional officiating as well as about publicity and transparency in the work from professional managers in this martial art. Taekwondo international referee Vu Xuan Thanh (currently the deputy director of the High Performance Sports Department 1 under the General Department of Sports and Physical Training) has also earned high respect from the international professional circle. At the London 2012 Olympics, Thanh served as an executive referee and played an important role with the right to veto the decision of the main judge right on the ring.
Currently, the three international referees of Vietnam are ready for the departure day to work at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. International umpire Nguyen Pham Duy Anh added: “There have been few international badminton tournaments held in the past year due to the impact of COVID-19. Therefore, I also feel nervous about going to directly run matches at the Tokyo Games. However, I will do my best in completing my professional tasks to be proud that Vietnam’s badminton umpires are not inferior to those from any other nations.”
All the relevant costs for these three referees will be fully covered by the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, and do not depend on the funding of the Vietnamese Olympic contingent.
