Da Nang (VNA)⛄ – Under the umbrella of the 13th ASEAN Schools Games, badminton matches were kicked off on June 2 at the Tien Son Sports Complex in Da Nang city.

Taking place from June 2-6, 106 athletes will compete for medals in seven events including men and women’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles. In the men’s team event, Vietnam is in Group A with Laos, Indonesia, and the Philippines while Group B consists of Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, and Singapore. Meanwhile, in the women’s team event, Group A features the host Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia while Group B sees the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia. Themed “Connect to shine together”, the 13th ASEAN Schools Games gathers more than 1,300 students, coaches from 10 countries in the region, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The event takes place from May 29 to Jun 6, with six sports: swimming, basketball, badminton, track and field, Pencak Silat, and Vovinam. The Vietnamese team has 190 athletes participating in all sports. The mascot of the Games is the red-shanked douc langur, an endemic primate living in Son Tra peninsula, Da Nang and some other places in Vietnam. This is a rare animal species, classified as endangered by the world nature conservation organization and Vietnam. The mascot send out the message of environmental protection to the students and the community as a whole./.