The famous Thai village in the Western Nghe An region with many shooters

Archer Lo Van Kien instructs his daughter Lo Thi Trang before the crossbow shooting at the 2018 Provincial Sports Festival. Photo: Dinh Tuan

Lung Village, Tam Thai Commune (Tuong Duong) is home to the Thai ethnic group. This land has produced many crossbow shooters who have won high prizes in many provincial and national competitions.

Crossbow lovers in Nghe An are familiar with excellent names such as: Lo Van Kien, Lo Van Ba, Lo Thi Din, Lo Thi Nga, Lo Van Thuong, Lo Van Khiem or young shooter Lo Thi Trang...

No need to go to Lung village, just go down to Tam Thai commune and ask for the house of archer Lo Van Kien, from old to young, almost everyone knows about this famous champion. Because every time he is mentioned, the people here admire him for his superb crossbow shooting skills. Kien's 3-room house displays a huge collection of crossbow shooting achievements of him and his family members.

Huge collection of Medals, Certificates of Merit, and Certificates of Merit of the family of shooter Lo Van Kien, Lung village, Tam Thai commune (Tuong Duong). Photo: Dinh Tuan

Mr. Lo Van Kien shared that when he was young, he followed his father and other adults in the village into the forest to hunt wild animals. These trips made him passionate about crossbow shooting. "When I grew up, the State banned hunting wild animals, so I didn't go into the forest anymore. Instead, I often practiced shooting in the backyard," Mr. Kien laughed and added: "Seeing that I had a talent for crossbow shooting, the commune sent officials to encourage me to compete. I accepted and won first prize the first time I participated in the district-level competition."

Up to now, Mr. Kien's crossbow shooting talent has been recognized as he has won high prizes in crossbow shooting competitions at district, provincial and national levels almost every year. He can't even remember how many competitions he has participated in and how many medals he has won. Among the many prestigious medals he has won are the Gold Medal at the 5th National Sports Festival held in Phu Tho in 2006, the Silver Medal at the National Sports Festival held in Tuyen Quang in 2005 and many medals at provincial and national Sports Festivals.

The children of Lung village, Tam Thai commune, representing Tuong Duong district, participated in the 8th Provincial Sports Festival in 2018. Photo: Dinh Tuan

Inheriting his father's talent, Lo Van Kien's daughter, Lo Thi Trang, is also one of the famous archers in Nghe An province. In addition, he is not only a teacher of many other archers but he is also famous in the region for his crossbow making skills.

Temporarily saying goodbye to the family of shooter Lo Van Kien, we visited the family of shooter Lo Thi Nga. Like shooter Lo Van Kien, Ms. Lo Thi Nga also owns many Gold, Silver, Bronze Medals, Certificates of Merit, Certificates of Merit... This is the achievement after more than 10 years of participating in large and small crossbow shooting competitions of this Thai ethnic shooter. Having just returned from the 8th Nghe An Provincial Sports Festival in 2018 with the prestigious Gold Medal, shooter Lo Thi Nga shared: "My family still has many difficulties, having to worry about food and money, but that does not mean giving up my passion. Every time there is a competition, big or small, I arrange my work to participate, rankings and achievements are important, but in my opinion, the most important thing is that I get to exchange, learn and strengthen solidarity, thereby contributing to preserving and developing this national sport".

Thai shooters in Lung village won 6 Gold Medals at the 8th Provincial Sports Festival in 2018. Photo: Dinh Tuan

Not far from the house of sniper Lo Thi Nga is the house of sniper Lo Van Ba. When a stranger came to his house, he temporarily put aside his work and warmly welcomed the guests. "You want me to take you to all the snipers in the village, I am ready but I am afraid you do not have enough time. Because if you visit all of them, it will take a whole day" - Ba laughed heartily.

Like many other shooters, Lo Van Ba, a son of Lung village, has for many years had the honor of representing the district and province in national competitions and has brought much glory to his homeland.

In big and small tournaments, shooter Lo Van Kien also sharpens and adjusts the names of the athletes in the competition. Photo: Dinh Tuan.

Mr. Ngo Minh Phuong - Director of the Cultural Information and Communication Center of Tuong Duong district said: “For many years, the core of the district's crossbow shooting team has been people from Lung village. These factors have contributed many achievements to the district. At the crossbow shooting competition within the framework of the 8th Nghe An Provincial Sports Festival, the children of Lung village brought home 6 Gold Medals to the district, this is an achievement that many units in the province dream of. Not only crossbow shooting, Lung village also has many famous stick pushing athletes in the district and the province such as: Loc Van Tham, Lo Thi Nga, Lo Van Phuong, ... - Mr. Phuong added".