Le Thi Khanh Huyen - From a shy girl to the 'golden' face of Kickboxing

Le Thi Khanh Huyen, a promising boxer of the province's sports. Photo: Duc Anh

Arriving at the Provincial Sports Training Center, we met a girl with a pretty and gentle face but a big body performing difficult moves as instructed by the coach. That was Le Thi Khanh Huyen. She is one of the 6 athletes who just won the gold medal in the Youth Kickboxing event in the 60 kg weight category for the age group of 14-16.

In the martial arts class at the Provincial Sports Training Center, we saw the excitement on the faces of teachers and students. Huyen happily shared with us: “This is my first national gold medal, I am very happy, but this is just the beginning. I will practice hard to achieve more achievements in the future.”

Le Thi Khanh Huyen in the final match of the 2020 National Youth Kickboxing Championship. Photo: Duc Anh

The youth Kickboxing tournament that Huyen just participated in was a very successful tournament for Huyen. To reach the final, Huyen had to overcome strong opponents one after another. Although the opponents were considered "superior", but with a strong will and a steady competitive mentality, Huyen "knocked out" all of her opponents.

When asked about his most memorable match, he shared: The most memorable match was the semi-final match of the recent youth Kickboxing tournament. Because this was the match that drained all of my energy. In that match, I played at my highest level ever, but my opponent was also very strong. The two sides played tit for tat, fighting for each point, and it wasn't until the last seconds that I knew I had won. That semi-final match was also the pivotal match that created a comfortable mentality for me to enter the final match to compete for the gold medal.

It seemed that after overcoming a tough opponent in the semi-final, I no longer had any fear when entering the most important match of the tournament. I scored points against my opponent one after another and brought home an overwhelming victory in the final match.

Khanh Huyen excellently won the gold medal at the national youth kickboxing tournament. Photo: Duc Anh

The mountain girl Le Thi Khanh Huyen (born 2004) in Anh Son district, her family are all farmers. Her childhood was not like other girls in the village, she liked to watch martial arts performances on television, and then wished that one day she would be able to perform her moves in front of a large audience. That dream was lit up when she was 13 years old, there was a Karate class from the district opened in the commune. Without thinking, Huyen asked her parents to let her study martial arts. With her parents' consent, Huyen was passionate about practicing, the coach at that time was very surprised because in a short time Huyen showed her talent in martial arts, she performed precise and beautiful moves that made many viewers admire and praise.

In the early afternoon of 2017, during a recruitment trip by the coaches of the Provincial Sports Training Center, Le Thi Khanh Huyen caught the eye of the scouts. The coach quickly recognized her as a talented person and wanted her to join the province's martial arts training center. This was a golden opportunity for Huyen to make her dream come true. She expressed her wish to become a professional athlete to her parents and was supported by them.

Le Thi Khanh Huyen, from a little girl who loved performing karate moves to a gold medalist in kickboxing. Photo: Duc Anh

Although he practiced Karate, when he entered the Provincial Sports Training Center, Huyen was recruited by teacher Bui Duy Vinh to join the Kickboxing class. He was quite surprised by this decision, because he had never competed in martial arts before.

Huyen's first practice match with her seniors in the same training center was a match that Huyen will remember forever. "At first, I was afraid that I would be beaten, but in the second and third rounds, I gradually regained my composure and played better, performing the moves that the coaches had taught me. That match, although I lost in all the rounds, also helped me overcome my fear," Huyen said.

Every day, Huyen practices diligently, promising to become a typical athlete of her home province in the future. Photo: Duc Anh

Being a girl practicing Kickboxing is really hard because this sport requires health and perseverance. That is a factor that not every female athlete can overcome. In addition, Huyen had to live away from her family since she was young, and had to be independent in everything in life. This is not easy for a female athlete and requires real determination.

Talking about the difficulties in the first day of living away from her family, Huyen recounted: "That was the time I got sick and was alone in the dormitory room without anyone taking care of me. I had to try to get up to buy medicine and take care of myself without any relatives around. That was one of the difficulties I had to overcome and I think I will always be resilient so as not to succumb to future obstacles.

After 2 years of competing in youth tournaments, Le Thi Khanh Huyen has made her initial mark with awards. In 2019, at the National Youth Boxing Tournament, Huyen won a silver medal. In 2020, she surpassed herself to win a gold medal in the National Youth Kickboxing event. This is just an initial achievement, a stepping stone for Le Thi Khanh Huyen to achieve even greater success in the future.

Huyen is an athlete who is very hard-working in training and has a talent for martial arts. She is quite versatile and can play many sports well, especially Boxing and Kickboxing. Le Thi Khanh Huyen promises to be an athlete who will achieve many great achievements for her province and the country in the future.

Coach Bui Duy Tuan