"Fire" from a sports family

(Baonghean) People of Nghia Lien - Nghia Dan commune mention the family of Pham Duc Than (born in 1961) and Ms. Le Thi Loi (born in 1964), in Hiep 1 hamlet, Nghia Lien commune, Nghia Dan district with pride.

They came to badminton by chance, naturally, without any formal training courses or classes, but their family won many medals in mass sports competitions in the province as well as nationwide. More importantly, they have aroused the passion for sports and created solidarity and unity in the community.

He is a commune official, she runs a grocery store at home. They have managed to balance family and work, and maintain their passion for sports. They have two children, a daughter who is currently working at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted, and a son who is a third-year student at the University of Agriculture. Both of their children are well-behaved and have inherited their parents' passion for sports.

Mr. Than and Ms. Loi introduce their family's medals.

Having always had a passion for playing table tennis and volleyball, in 1997, when a neighbor suggested joining the district badminton tournament, the couple did not hesitate to try. Without any training, only spending a short time of 10 days practicing under the guidance of the district Cultural and Sports Center staff, they participated in the district competition.

The failure in the first matches was an experience for the family to be determined to practice. They were determined to invest and renovate the land area in the garden to build a badminton court. Every day, the family spent 2 to 3 hours practicing in the early morning and late afternoon...

Then the whole family participated and won many awards in the categories of husband and wife, father and son, mother and son, sisters... The special thing is that the family members did not go through any formal training or coaching classes, but mainly practiced and learned from their opponents through tournaments. Gradually, the family's badminton court became a meeting place for neighbors to practice badminton, drink tea, and discuss work in the village and commune. The passion for sports of the couple has spread to many other families and is being replicated in the community.

Many badminton and volleyball courts have been built in the area, attracting a large number of people to participate. The couple's family has always been active members, leading in cultural and sports activities from the hamlet, commune and the whole district, directly guiding and training students to participate in sports competitions of the district and province. Most recently, in March 2012, Ms. Loi trained 2 students in grades 6 and 9 to participate in the Phu Dong Sports Festival at the provincial level and won 2 first prizes.

Up to now, the family has won 18 medals of all kinds, including 6 Gold medals, 2 Silver medals and 10 Bronze medals nationwide in grassroots sports competitions. Not stopping at the medals, they have spent a lot of time training students, as well as badminton lovers with the hope that the children and everyone will have a healthy training environment, reduce social evils in the area and strengthen solidarity in the community.

Thanh Lien