Nguyen Tai Anh - the 'golden' face of Nghe An Youth Boxing

With a tall, strong body, weighing up to 80 kg, few people would think that Nguyen Tai Anh is a 12th grader. We congratulate Tai Anh for his achievement of winning the 81 kg weight class for the 17-18 age group at the 2020 National Youth Kick-Boxing Championship at the end of July. Nguyen Tai Anh shared: "This is just a stepping stone, an important motivation for me to continue to strive in training and competition, aiming for higher achievements in the future."

Coming to Boxing a bit late, Nguyen Tai Anh always tries hard and diligently in training and competing. Photo: Duc Anh

Tai Anh was born in 2002, living in block 8, Quang Trung ward (Vinh city). Since childhood, he was very active, liked to run and jump, and was passionate about football. One time, when he had just finished grade 9, while playing football outside Vinh stadium, he saw his peers practicing Boxing. Tai Anh really liked it and wanted to participate.

That night, Tai Anh convinced his parents to let him go to Boxing class, and the next day his name was on the list of students at the Provincial Sports Training and Competition Center. After 3 years of Boxing, Nguyen Tai Anh was evaluated by the coaches as hard-working and dedicated in training, with many prospects in the future.

“Boxing is a popular martial art, highly competitive, with simple basic techniques but very difficult to practice, requiring the practitioner to be persistent and always make an effort. In return, it helps the body to be healthy, strong, flexible and have a supple, resilient physique” – Tai Anh said.

Nguyen Tai Anh's strength is his hand strikes. Photo: Duc Anh

Tai Anh's first match was at the provincial tournament in 2018. It was his first time in the ring, so his mentality was not yet stable, leading to confusion in attacking and defending. As a result, Tai Anh was led by his opponent and lost. Although he was very sad, with the encouragement of his teachers, friends and family, Tai Anh practiced harder and tried harder to achieve better results in the following matches.

That effort was confirmed at the 2019 National Youth Boxing Championship, where Nguyen Tai Anh won a Bronze Medal. Not satisfied with his achievements, Tai Anh continued to train hard and prepare mentally to participate in the next tournaments.

And at the 2020 National Youth Kick-Boxing Championship, Tai Anh won 3 consecutive matches and won the Gold Medal. “The most memorable match was the final match, my opponent had the strength to attack at close range, so I always kept a suitable distance and moved flexibly to neutralize it. When my opponent was not paying attention, I used my hands to counterattack and score points. In the end, I surpassed my opponent after 3 rounds,” Tai Anh said.

Athlete Nguyen Tai Anh (red pants) in a match at the 2020 National Youth Kick-Boxing Championship. Photo: Duc Anh

According to Tai Anh, the efforts over the past 3 years have been confirmed and rewarded with the Gold Medal, but this is only the first step on a difficult and challenging path. The immediate future is the National Youth Boxing Championship held at the end of the year, followed by higher competitions.

Regarding his future plans, Tai Anh shared: “My wish is to pursue martial arts, become a professional athlete, achieve many high achievements in national tournaments and be present at the SEA Games arena. And later, if I have the conditions, I will open a Boxing training class for those who share the same passion.”

Nguyen Tai Anh's joy of winning the Gold Medal at the 2020 National Youth Kick-Boxing Championship. Photo: Duc Anh

“Although he came to Boxing a bit late and didn’t have much training time, Nguyen Tai Anh has made a lot of effort, worked hard and matured through each tournament; he is considered to have a lot of potential and will achieve many great achievements in the future.”

Coach Bui Duy Tuan