This image can be used to describe the members of the International Studies Faculty's Badminton Club who represented the University at the "PolyU Squina 2012 Asian Universities Invitational Badminton Tournament".Held from July 22nd to 26th, 2012 in Hong Kong, this tournament was part of a series of events celebrating the 75th anniversary of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University was founded in 1937, initially as a small government-run business school, and officially became Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 1994. Its outstanding achievements are demonstrated in seven key areas: international recognition (ranked among the top 150 universities worldwide by the Times Higher Education ranking in 2010 and among the top 30 universities in Asia by the QS Asian University Ranking in 2011), human resource development (having trained over 300,000 people over the past 75 years), knowledge transfer (over 700 consulting projects serving more than 400 companies and organizations with revenue exceeding HK$100 million in 2009/2010), innovation awards (over 160 awards, including 50 in international innovation exhibitions), and research excellence. Excellence (currently undertaking 2,681 research projects worth HK$1,410.3 million), international cooperation (partnering with 560 universities in 40 countries and territories), and community service (from 2004-2010: over 6,800 students and staff of the university served 490,000 impoverished people in Hong Kong).
Participating in the badminton tournament organized by Hong Kong Polytechnic University to celebrate its 75th anniversary, besides the delegation from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities of Vietnam, there were 14 other teams from mainland China (Beijing Jiaotong University, China University of Science and Technology, Northwest Polytechnic University, Nanjing University of Economics and Finance, Tongji University, South China University of Technology), Hong Kong (City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University), Macau (University of Macau), Taiwan (National Taiwan University of Science and Technology), Thailand (University of Thai Chamber of Commerce), and Indonesia (University of Indonesia). The tournament was held with two categories: team and individual. The Vietnamese delegation, participating for the first time, registered for all team events (men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles) and all three individual events (men's singles, men's doubles, and women's doubles).
Despite their best efforts and hard work, competing abroad for the first time against universities with strong sports programs and high-level athletes (the Thai team had students who participated in the 22nd Seagames, and the Nanjing University of Economics and Finance team had students who participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics), the Vietnamese team only managed to win one match in the men's doubles against the University of Macau and finished 15th overall. Beijing Jiaotong University won the team championship, while the teams from the University of Science and Technology of China, the University of Commerce of Thailand, and Tongji University of China finished in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place respectively. The tournament concluded successfully on July 26th with the individual finals; specifically, the men's and women's singles championships both went to the University of Science and Technology of China, the men's and women's doubles championships went to the University of Commerce of Thailand, and the mixed doubles championship went to the University of Indonesia.
Participating in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's competition this time, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities sent Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh (Vice Rector) as the head of the delegation and Mr. Ngo Tuan Thang (Specialist in the Faculty of International Studies) as the manager, along with 6 athletes, including 3 students from the Faculty of International Studies (Nguyen Huu Thanh K53, Tran Thi Kim Tuyen K54, Nguyen Bich Viet Anh K55), 2 students from the Faculty of Oriental Studies (Tran Van Toan and Cao Thi Minh Chau K55), and 1 student from the Faculty of Political Science (Phan Duy Anh K53). During their time in Hong Kong, the delegation was warmly and thoughtfully welcomed by the host university, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which provided the best possible conditions for competition and activities. The delegation also had the opportunity to interact and learn from students of other delegations, showcasing the image of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities to international friends. The biggest lesson the delegation members learned was that there is a huge gap between universities worldwide and Vietnamese universities (in terms of physical fitness, techniques, equipment, and training conditions), and if we want to "swim out into the open sea without being swept away by the waves," we must change our perception and approach to learning and playing sports in general, and badminton in particular.
