Lord of the Dance
Irish badminton player Nhat Nguyen pulls off upset at Open
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Irish badminton player Nhat Nguyen pulls off upset at Open

UNDERSTANDABLY, YOU may have spent your Saint Patrick's Day focused on the proceedings at Cheltenham, where there were many Irish winners.

But while that was going on, Irish badminton player Nhat Nguyen was pulling off a major upset at the All England Open.

The 20-year-old put in a seriously impressive performance, defeating the world number 13 Srikanth Kidambi from India.

Nguyen shook the badminton world with the victory, which was not expected at all given he is unseeded in the competition.

He was born in Vietnam, but left the country for a new life in Dublin, Ireland along with his parents and older sister, when he was six years old.

He went to school in Artane, and started playing badminton at the local club with his father. A good decision, it seems...

This All England Open, which features the 160 best players in the world, is taking place in Birmingham with a full complement of players.

We won't be alone in keeping an eye on Nguyen's career going forward, and he is understandably targeting the Olympics.

In a recent interview with The42, he said: "In my nind, I feel I am going to Tokyo. 99.9% – hopefully injuries don’t come into it. In my mind I’m all prepared for Tokyo."