INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines - A spot in the world's top 10 may be in sight for the tournament favorite.

Nguyen Tien Minh of Vietnam, ranked 11th in the world, shoots for the crown and precious world ranking points in the men’s singles of the 3rd Bingo Bonanza Philippine Open Badminton Championships on July 1 to 5 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City

Seeded second in the tournament, Nguyen has been tabbed as favorite after stunning world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the recent Singapore Super Series.

Nguyen also defeated world No. 10 Chan Yan Kit of Hong Kong, the tournament’s top seed, in the finals of the Vietnam Open Grand Prix last December.

The $120,000 tournament, rated as a four-star or gold event, offers local players a chance to earn World Badminton Federation points.

Chan and Nguyen lead the 57-man international field that includes Filipinos Ralph Ian Mendez and Kelvin Dalisay.

The Olympian Nguyen climbed from the 17th spot to No.11 following a string of victories that also includes the Vietnam International Challenge and a pair of Last 16 finishes in the Asian Badminton Championships and Malaysia Super Series.

But Chan is expected to pose a challenge in a bid to snap a long overseas title drought.

Chan could only muster a Last 32 finish in the recent Asian Championships, Swiss Open Super Series and the All-England Super Series.

The pair will be up against third seed Lee Tsuen Seng of Malaysia and a cast that includes China’s former world junior champion Cheng Long and Du Pengyu, Hong Kong’s Yun Hu and Wong Weng-ki, Malaysia’s Wei Feng Chong and Sairul Amar Ayob, Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto and England’s Andrew Smith.

Also seeing action for the hosts are Ian Bautista, Peter Magnaye, Antonio Gadi, Joper Escueta, Wilmer Frias, Kelvin Panganiban, Raymond Padilla and Wilfredo Amoroso.