Stories about typical female faces of Nghe An sports village

Remarkable achievements

An interesting thing is that in Nghe An sports village, most of the outstanding female athletes and coaches are inmartial arts, of which the most notable name today is Ngu Thi Thuyet.

Born in 1990 in Hung Linh commune (Hung Nguyen), with good physique, physical strength and passion for martial arts, at the age of 15, Thuyet was selected for the Nghe An team to participate in the National Traditional Martial Arts Championship and then called up to the national team. Since then, Ngu Thi Thuyet has continuously achieved success with dozens of medals of all kinds in all 3 disciplines: traditional martial arts, boxing and kick-boxing.

Ngu Thi Thuyet (middle) watches her students during a boxing session. Photo: Minh Quan.

Consecutively from 2008 to 2018, Ngu Thi Thuyet was undefeated in the 50kg traditional martial arts category and 60kg boxing and kick-boxing category in national tournaments. Although she did not have a chance to compete in regional, continental and world tournaments due to some injuries during the National team training, Thuyet is still considered one of the most respected female martial artists in the Vietnamese martial arts community in the first 20 years of the 21st century.

In April 2022, right before ending her high-performance career, Ngu Thi Thuyet still won 1 gold medal in the under-60kg category at the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province Open Kick-Boxing Tournament. She is currentlyCurrently a coach of Traditional Martial Arts - Boxing - Kick-Boxing (Provincial Sports Training and Competition Center), she daily brings her enthusiasm and experience to young athletes, many of whom are her teammates in tournaments in recent years.

In the team of veteran coaches working at the Provincial Sports Training and Competition Center, if averageIf we were to choose a typical female face, no one would be more deserving than coach Trinh Thi Mui (pencak silat).

Born in 1979 in Thanh Hoa, she has been involved in Nghe An sports for more than 20 years as a coach. Previously, during her time competing for the National Pencak Silat Team (from 1995 to 2001), Trinh Thi Mui won 7 national gold medals, 4 SEA Games gold medals, 2 Asian gold medals, 3 world gold medals in the 60 kg category; was voted outstanding athlete 4 times in 4 consecutive years from 1999 to 2003; was awarded the Second and Third Class Labor Medal 3 times.

After finishing her athletic career in 2001, she married Tran Trong Cuong - a pencak silat athlete from Nghe An and together with her husband took on the role of coach of the Nghe An pencak silat team. In her new position, Trinh Thi Mui has contributed to training talented athletes for Nghe An pencak silat such as Truong Van Mao, Nguyen Duy Doan, Nguyen Hai Lam, Tran Anh Tuan, Tran Thi An..., making Nghe An a strong province in this martial art.

Another typical female athlete of Nghe An sports is Pham Thi Hong Thanh. Born in 1999 in Chi Linh city, Hai Duong province, when she had just finished 8th grade, during a summer vacation in Nghe An to visit relatives, Hong Thanh was introduced to swimming by an uncle who was the leader of Nghe An Sports and Physical Training and Competition Center.

Weightlifter Pham Thi Hong Thanh and coach Vu Duc Hoang. Photo: Minh Quan.

Here, she caught the eye of weightlifting coach Vu Duc Hoang and was persuaded and selected to join the Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center. At the 30th and 31st SEA Games, Pham Thi Hong Thanh won gold medals in the 64 kg weight class. Notably, at the 31st SEA Games taking place in May 2022 at home, she also set 3 records by conquering a total lift of 230 kg.

In the last months of 2022, Hong Thanh won 3 more gold medals at the Asian Weightlifting Championship and 3 gold medals at the 9th National Sports Festival.

Efforts to overcome difficulties

Currently, the Provincial Sports Training Center has 165 female athletes out of a total of 315 athletes, including sports where the majority of female athletes are volleyball (20 athletes), athletics (20 athletes), taekwondo (16 athletes), sepak takraw (12 athletes), pencak silat (11 athletes)... In addition, there are 7 female coaches in martial arts and sepak takraw, sepak takraw, athletics...

A training session of Nghe An women's volleyball team. Photo: Minh Quan.

Over the past 10 years, the number of medals, especially gold medals, won by Nghe An female athletes at national tournaments accounts for more than half of the medals of Nghe An high-performance sports.

Although they make up a large number and have achieved many achievements for the province's sports, few people know that compared to their male colleagues, female athletes and coaches face many difficulties in pursuing a career in sports.

Coach Ha Thi Kim Anh (athletics) shared: “When women participate in training and competing in sports, they face many difficulties and pressures such as physical condition and family. The psychology of female athletes is not as stable as that of male athletes, and the time spent in top sports is also shorter. Meanwhile, the peak sports training period often falls at the most beautiful age of women (from 18 to 24).

Not only that, they have to regularly practice and compete away from home... Like me personally, in 2022, during the training process with the team to prepare for the 9th National Sports Festival, I had to be away from home for 5 months, even though at that time my first child was in 8th grade and my second child was only in 3rd grade."

Nghe An female track and field athletes practice. Photo: Minh Quan.

However, with passion, female coaches and athletes have overcome all difficulties to devote themselves to their sports and fitness careers. For many female athletes and coaches, perhaps the first obstacle they have to overcome to start their professional sports career is how to convince their families to support them.

It is a fact that most of the athletes who are training at the Provincial Sports Training and Competition Center come from the districts and have difficult family circumstances. Because of their family circumstances, it is easier for these athletes to convince their families to let them pursue a sports career.

Female wushu fighters on the training floor. Photo: Minh Quan

In Vinh city, according to coaches, there are currently many female students with good qualities and the potential to become excellent athletes, but their parents' views are also stricter. However, because of their passion for sports, many students have convinced their families, such as Nguyen Tu Anh (born 2007) in diving.

Diver Nguyen Tu Anh with coach Ho Van Luoc. Photo: Minh Quan

Tu Anh said: “Since I was little, I have been passionate about swimming and diving, so I tried to convince my parents to let me join the provincial swimming and diving team. At first, my parents objected because they thought that girls should not pursue a career in sports, but I persisted in convincing them and tried to study well, so gradually, my parents agreed.”

Powerful movements of female taekwondo athletes from Nghe An. Photo: Minh Quan

Besides, people often think that girls who pursue sports careers are often physically tough and not graceful or attractive. But in reality, the opposite is true. There are many female athletes at the Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center who are beauty queens, such as Nguyen Thi Mai (karatedo athlete), Tran Thi Lan, Nguyen Thi Kim Anh (taekwondo athlete), Ho Thi Minh Thuan (soccer coach), Le Thi Thanh Lien (volleyball)... The talent and beauty of these athletes have brought a fresh and exciting atmosphere to the training grounds.