Nguyen Dinh Vu - the pride of Nghe An athletics at the 31st SEA Games

Nguyen Dinh Vu on the 4x100m relay track. Photo: NVCC

Aim to "win gold" at SEA Games 31

The 31st SEA Games will begin in just a few days. Following the success of the 30th SEA Games, leading the entire delegation with 16 gold medals, 13 silver medals and 9 bronze medals, entering this Games with the great advantage of competing at home, the goal of Vietnamese athletics is still to rank first in the medal table.

To achieve this goal, each event requires athletes to make every effort to reach their best form before entering the big competition.

In the 47 athletics events that Vietnam participated in, only 1 event, the 4x100m relay, had the participation of Nguyen Dinh Vu - an athlete from Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center.

These days, Vu and his teammates are practicing the final training plan of the coaching board, aiming to polish the shortcomings before the match day. The training atmosphere of the athletes is very serious, but not too tense. That is one of the important points, aiming to bring the most comfortable mentality to Nguyen Dinh Vu and his teammates.

Vu shared: “This is the first SEA Games in my career. I am working hard to practice every day with the hope that I will compete with the best results and bring glory to the Fatherland. And I am also the only track and field athlete from Nghe An participating in this Games. Therefore, I hope to bring pride to the people of Nghe An. Let everyone know the spirit of the people of Nghe An, a land of sun, wind, and harshness, but always showing a desire, knowing how to overcome all difficulties to achieve the best results”.

Vu is a young athlete of the Vietnamese athletics team participating in the 31st SEA Games, he is only 19 years old. The strength of the athlete from Dien Chau is his sprinting ability. In the 3 strong events of 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay, the 4x100m team relay is the event that Vu hopes to "pick gold" in this congress.

In the rehearsals before the 31st SEA Games, Vu competed in the 100m event with a finishing time of 10.64s; in the 200m 21.47s; and in the 4x100m relay 40.12s. These achievements were highly appreciated by experts. The goal of winning gold in the 4x100m relay is within reach of Vietnamese track and field athletes.

Talking about the opportunities of Nguyen Dinh Vu's student, Ms. Ha Thi Kim Anh - Head of the Athletics Department of Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center, commented: "Vu is an athlete with very special qualities. After a long time of training at the center, he has revealed many strengths such as the frequency of his leg movements, strength, and competitive mentality... These factors have helped Vu stand out and become a bright spot of Nghe An athletics at the present time. With his will, effort, and serious attitude in training, I believe he will go far in the 2021 Southeast Asian Games."

Forming qualities from labor and production

Nguyen Dinh Vu and his teammates in the Vietnam Athletics Team. Photo: NVCC

Nguyen Dinh Vu comes from a farming family in Dien Chau district. The boy born in 2003 had to do manual labor early to help his parents with farming. That is what formed special qualities in Vu. During his secondary school years, Vu was always an outstanding student in the school's physical education and sports activities. In 2017, the athlete born in 2003 was sent by Dien Truong Secondary School to participate in the Phu Dong Sports Festival of the whole province. In the 100m and 200m short runs, Nguyen Dinh Vu surprised experts with his ability to accelerate and sprint. Vu won Gold Medals in the events he participated in.

Not wanting to miss out on talent, the scouts of Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center recommended and selected Nguyen Dinh Vu to join the Athletics Department at the center. Vu realized that this was the shortest way to help him escape the tiring, “muddy-handed” work in his hometown. He decided to follow the path of a professional athlete.

In the first days of training, Vu was trained by the coaches at the center in terms of technique, tactics, and strength. After a short period of training, Vu gradually affirmed his superiority in this sport. Vu was quickly called up to the Vietnam National Athletics Team. After 3 years of living and training with the top athletes in the country, Vu learned and developed many more skills to soon affirm his name in the team.

In 2021, Nguyen Dinh Vu competed excellently against prominent opponents of Vietnamese athletics. He brought home 2 Silver Medals for the province's sports, in the 100m and 200m events at the National Athletics Championship.

Talking about her student, Coach Ha Thi Kim Anh shared: “It can be said that it has been a long time since Nghe An athletics has had such a promising athlete. He is one of the students who practices hard, has a healthy lifestyle, and is always striving for progress. In just a short time, he has had very rapid professional development. Vu is a very young athlete, if he is given the right experience and training, he will go far in the future.”

Ms. Anh also shared: “Vietnamese athletics is one of the countries that is highly appreciated in the region. With the understanding of the balance of power of the teams participating in the 31st SEA Games, I believe that Vu, along with our athletes, will achieve good results in the largest arena in Southeast Asia. It is very likely that in his first participation, Vu will win a gold medal in the 4x100m relay event, bringing honor to the people of Nghe An.”

After many years, Nghe An Athletics has a talented athlete. Nguyen Dinh Vu promises to shine in this congress. Bringing back good achievements to make the province's sports famous./.