Nguyen Thi Quynh Van: Grandma sold all her assets in the US to bring pickleball to Vietnam

Before retiring, Ms. Van and her husband worked as English teachers in California. As a result, they have saved some mone.y so that they can live their last days in the United States to the fullest. However, pickleball seems to have contributed to keeping her in Vietnam.

More than 10 years ago, when she was living in California (USA), Ms. Van began to get acquainted with pickleball. Before that, she and her husband often participated in challenging sports such as mountaineering and cycling. However, during a health check-up, the doctor advised her to choose a gentle sport that is more suitable for the skeletal system of the elderly. Initially, she and her husband planned to switch to playing tennis, but when she saw many older people playing pickleball on the court, she was curious to buy equipment to try it out. Since then, she has been attached to this sport and gradually fell in love with it.

In 2017, on her return trip to Chau Doc, An Giang, she brought pickleball to introduce to local people, with the desire to encourage people to play sports to exercise their health. From a small group guided by her, after only 7 years, the pickleball movement in Chau Doc has developed strongly with many groups playing and many people reaching high levels.

"In Saigon, people have mone.y to play sports, but Chau Doc is very poor. I want to do something for this place, help the youth have something to play with. And pickleball came as an arrangement," she said.

In 2022, Ms. Van and her husband decided to sell all their assets in the US to return to Vietnam to settle down. According to Ms. Van, pickleball is very suitable for Vietnamese and Asian people. She once watched world number two Ben Johns play in California and thought that the Vietnamese can bea.t him with flexibility and agility. She excitedly reported that a frien.d who works in the sports industry revealed that they are training physical education teachers to teach pickleball to students and believes that in the future, this sport will grow stronger and stronger in Vietnam.

She said: "Before returning home, my wif.e and I talked about pickleball every day. We all believe that this sport is very suitable for Vietnamese people, because they are familiar with sports such as tennis, table tennis, badminton."

However, Ms. Van said that, in order to develop in the right direction, pickleball needs to avoid non-professional markets, which are prominent among which is condemning female players wearing clothes that are considered sensitive. She said that sellers of pants, shirts and pickleball related products use sexy images of women to attract customers.

"I think this is not good for women. When a gir.l wears a lack of fabric, no matter how good she plays, no one cares about her level anymore," she remarked, then laughed and said, "Look at me. This is how I dress when I play pickleball. That's how comfortable it is."

Sometimes, Ms. Van still thinks about her youth, when she was addicted to thrilling sports and challenging herself such as mountain biking, mountain climbing... But now, she only needs a gentle subject to exercise her bones, which is highly connected. And pickleball meets the criteria. It helps her keep her mind active, repel old ag.e, and share her spirit and knowledge with young people.

Currently, the life of her husband and wif.e in Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City revolves around pickleball. Not only playing football with her husband, she also invited exercisers in the park to participate. To support newcomers, she prepares her racket and brings equipment every time she goes out, ready to guide and spread her passion for this sport.

Ms. Quynh Van commented that this sport is easy to attract the community because it is suitable for all ages, from children to the elderly, both men and women.

The 65-year-old woman excitedly shares her concern with rescuing abandoned animals. She said she has 28 stray cats in three rented apartments in Ho Chi Minh City and asks a few grandchildren to take care of them. However, she is worried that she and her husband will grow old and can no longer afford to take care of the cats. So she is looking for help from animal rescue groups and is willing to pay for caregivers.

"I have a couple of friends who are building pickleball courts. As soon as it's done, I'll ask them to organize a tournament to raise funds to rescue abandoned animals. I can invite some artists to come and promote. There are some actors and celebrities who play this sport," she said excitedly.

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