A promising face in Nghe An's sepak takraw scene.

From school-level tournaments…

Born in 2005 into a family of self-employed business owners in Le Loi Ward (Vinh City), Le Anh Duc loved sepak takraw from his elementary school days. During recess or after school, Duc would often play sepak takraw with his friends and displayed outstanding agility and skill in the sport.

In 2015, while in 5th grade, Duc was selected by his homeroom teacher to compete in the men's doubles sepak takraw event at the school's Phu Dong Sports Festival. Easily winning first place, he was selected for the school's team to compete at the city-level Phu Dong Sports Festival, where he won second place.

His early achievements fueled his passion for sepak takraw. Upon entering junior high school, he asked his mother to let him train with the talented athletes at the Provincial Sports Training and Coaching Center (now the Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center).

After a period of training, Le Anh Duc caught the eye of sepak takraw coach Ton Quy Hoa. In early 2017, Duc was officially recruited into the sepak takraw team of the Nghe An Sports Training and Coaching Center.

In the early days of becoming a high-performance athlete, balancing academic studies with intense training under the guidance of the coaching staff, Le Anh Duc often felt exhausted. In addition, injuries were unavoidable during training. However, with passion and determination, Duc persevered through many difficult exercises, improving his skills according to the training plan set by the coaching staff.

Also in 2017, Le Anh Duc had his first opportunity to test his skills in the National Youth and Junior Sepak Takraw Championship held in Thua Thien Hue province. Although he only won a bronze medal in the men's singles event, this was a huge motivation for Duc, making him feel no regrets about his passion for sepak takraw and considering it a part of his life. And he also conquered his first gold medal at the National Beach Sepak Takraw Championship held in Khanh Hoa province, also in 2017.

Subsequently, Duc won one gold medal at the national youth championships in 2018, and two gold medals at the national strong teams championships in 2019 and 2021, also in his specialty, men's singles. In addition, Duc won four silver medals at these tournaments, in both men's singles and men's doubles.

According to coach Ton Quy Hoa, Le Anh Duc not only possesses agility and skill, but also has a high level of awareness and concentration in training, which has allowed his talent to develop very quickly. Duc's outstanding qualities include his ability to serve with high speed and accuracy, and especially his ability to handle situations far from the net with good jumping ability.

Furthermore, Germany possesses a strong fighting spirit and mentality, and their tactical thinking is very sharp. Against weaker opponents, Germany often attacks aggressively from the start to quickly finish the match, but against stronger opponents, Germany plays cautiously, handles situations very flexibly, distributes energy wisely, and attacks incisively at crucial moments.

...to the Asian Gold Medal

Having performed impressively in domestic tournaments, in 2013, Le Anh Duc was selected for the national youth team to compete in the Asian Youth Sepak Takraw Championship held in Hong Kong. In this first overseas trip, Duc competed in both the men's singles and men's doubles events.

In the men's singles event, after overcoming several strong opponents, Duc faced a Taiwanese athlete in the final. The match was evenly contested, with both athletes battling for every point in the first set. After losing the first set 19-21, Duc quickly regained his composure, dominated the game, and won the next two sets 21-15 and 21-13 to claim the coveted gold medal.

Additionally, at this tournament, Germany also won a Silver Medal in the men's doubles team event.

"Every day, training and competing on the field brings me joy and happiness. I feel very proud to have achieved my goal of being selected to compete in the Asian Youth Championships. This also motivates me to continue competing with all my might and strive for even more achievements."

__________

Sepak Takraw athlete Le Anh Duc (Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center).

Having dedicated himself to sepak takraw, Le Anh Duc has put in a great deal of effort and overcome many difficulties, as the remuneration for sepak takraw athletes is still very low. To achieve good results, Anh Duc has also received a lot of help and inspiration from teachers such as coach Ton Quy Hoa and teammates like Nguyen Viet Hoang and Le Sy Khanh.

Speaking about his friend, Nguyen Viet Hoang - an athlete who participated in and won a Silver Medal in the doubles team event at the 2023 Asian Junior Championships - said: "In training, Duc is a very hardworking friend, and in life, he is sociable with everyone. In every tournament, we always encourage each other to do our best and compete well to bring home the best results for our province."

Reaching the top is difficult, but maintaining it is infinitely more challenging. Le Anh Duc, only 19 years old this year, is still very young, and the road ahead for this athlete is full of potential and many more milestones to conquer. Duc's goal for 2024 is to defend his gold medal at the National Youth Championships, the National Beach Championships, and especially the Asian Youth Championships held on home soil. Furthermore, Le Anh Duc will be a key player for Nghe An at the 2026 National Sports Games.

If he maintains his current level of development, Anh Duc could absolutely become a member of the national team participating in continental and world tournaments, following in the footsteps of his senior, Le Cong Tai – the sepak takraw athlete from Nghe An who won a silver medal at the 2013 World Sepak Takraw Championship. Hopefully, with his own efforts, Anh Duc will continue to achieve success and bring even more glory and pride to Nghe An sports.

"I will soon be studying Physical Education at Vinh University. After I retire from sepak takraw, I will become a physical education teacher, inspiring my students with a passion for sports."

________

Sepak Takraw player Le Anh Duc