Vietnamese table tennis legend Tran Canh Den passed away at the age of 85.

Mr. Tran Canh Den, who made great contributions to bringing Vietnamese table tennis to the top of the world in the 1950s and 1960s, has passed away at the age of 85.

Mr. Tran Canh Den is a prominent name in the Vietnamese table tennis village - Photo archive

The news of Mr. Tran Canh Den's death was announced by Mr. Tran Canh Tuan, who is currently the Vice President of the Vietnam Table Tennis Federation, on the morning of September 25. Mr. Tuan is Mr. Tran Canh Den's son.

Vietnamese table tennis fans over the past decades are no strangers to the name Tran Canh Den, a player born in 1940 who was once famous from the late 1950s to the 1960s and 1970s.

Together with his brother, Mr. Tran Canh Duoc, and other famous players such as Mai Van Hoa and Le Van Tiet, Mr. Tran Canh Den contributed to the "legendary" generation of table tennis during this period.

Together, that table tennis generation created historic achievements such as 3rd place in the 1959 World Championship, 2 gold medals at the 1958 Asiad, 1962 Asian bronze medal, 1959 SEAP Games gold medal (the predecessor of the SEA Games)... Among these, Mr. Den directly contributed to the 1959 SEAP Games and the 1962 Asian tournament.

According to the assessment of Vietnamese table tennis experts, Mr. Tran Canh Den is loved for his beautiful playing style, along with 3 legends Mai Van Hoa - known as "The Great Wall", "table tennis wonder" Le Van Tiet and Mr. Tran Canh Duoc - the player with the most comprehensive offensive and defensive playing style of all time in Vietnamese table tennis.

Mr. Tuan (left) with his father (second from right) and family friends - Photo: NVCC

Mr. Den was once in the world's top 30, and is one of the rare Vietnamese tennis players to have entered the world's top.

After 1975, Mr. Den continued to be invited to participate in training and coaching table tennis in several provinces and cities in Vietnam.

Not only that, his passion for table tennis was also passed on to his children - most notably Mr. Tran Canh Tuan, currently holding the position of Vice President of the Vietnam Table Tennis Federation.

Once an athlete and then coach of the Song Be province table tennis team, Mr. Tran Canh Tuan settled in the US before returning to Vietnam in recent years to continue contributing to the Vietnamese table tennis community.

According to his family, until the last years of his life, Mr. Tran Canh Den still maintained his passion for table tennis, often participating in activities at different clubs, before his health gradually declined over the past year.

The passing of Mr. Tran Canh Den left much regret in the Vietnamese table tennis world.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/huyen-thoai-bong-ban-viet-nam-tran-canh-den-qua-doi-o-tuoi-85-20250925070025612.htm