The "golden girls" of Que Phong sports

(Baonghean) - The sports industry is inherently full of hardships, and when combined with traditional sports, the hardships are multiplied. However, the "golden girls" of traditional sports in Que Phong district have always kept the flame of passion for competition...

Standing out among the traditional sports in Que Phong are crossbow shooting and stick pushing. These are two sports developed from the folk games of the Thai and Mong ethnic groups... Currently, they are also the two sports that attract the most medals in the district's sports and physical education sector in competitions. We met stick pushing athlete Quang Thi Hong (Mong village, Chau Kim commune) when she had just returned from the National Stick Pushing Championship held in Son La province. After nearly a week of tension in the arena, Hong was busy harvesting rice in the fields to help her mother. The "golden" girl of the stick pushing sport in Que Phong district quickly wiped away her sweat and shared: "I won the gold medal at the recent National Stick Pushing Championship. When I got home, I only had time to show off the medal to my mother and the villagers, then rushed back to the fields. My father passed away early, so there are only two of us..."

Quang Thi Hong's family is in a difficult situation in the commune, but Hong always keeps the passion for the traditional stick pushing sport of her people. She said that her fate with the profession came by chance, that is in 2012, the People's Committee of Chau Kim commune organized a sports competition on the occasion of the New Year. Hong was unexpectedly chosen to represent the village to compete in the stick pushing sport. "Honestly, I have known about stick pushing sport since I was little, because this is a traditional game of the Thai people during festivals and holidays. But this was the first time I participated in a competition, and that time I was lucky to win the first prize in the competition. The coaches of the District Cultural - Information Center who were present at the competition recognized my qualities, so they quickly met and encouraged me to practice professionally" - athlete Quang Thi Hong recalled. From that initial fate with the profession, Hong focused on learning about the competition format, the technique of using the stick, the footwork suitable for each competitor...

Athlete Luong Thi Xuan (right) discusses crossbow shooting techniques with her coach.

Coming to the competition career quite late, but the 23-year-old girl has affirmed her talent and efforts with an impressive list of achievements: Silver medal in pole pushing at the National Ethnic Minority Sports Competition Region I held in Lai Chau province; Gold medal in pole pushing at the 7th Nghe An Provincial Sports Festival... To have such outstanding achievements, Hong shared that, in addition to her own efforts and passion, it is impossible not to mention the enthusiastic support of teachers, coaches and leaders of the Department of Culture - Sports as well as authorities at all levels. "There were many times when I wanted to give up because, to be honest, district-level athletes still compete in a "seasonal" way, making it difficult to ensure the economy to cover family life. Besides, there is the mentality of "when a girl has it, then...". But then, feeling sorry for the teachers who traveled far and near, encouraged, advised, even shared the joys and sorrows with the students, I loved the career I had devoted myself to even more" - Quang Thi Hong confided.

Like Quang Thi Hong, female crossbow athlete Luong Thi Xuan (Pieng Cu resettlement area, Tien Phong commune) is quite an impressive face in the traditional sports village of Que Phong district. Impressive because Xuan has a unique style, along with a strange love for crossbows. The crossbow that Xuan often uses in competitions is made by Xuan herself. Luong Thi Xuan held out her hands, white but with calluses typical of a veteran crossbow athlete, and said: “Since I was 8 or 9 years old, I have been fascinated with crossbow shooting. Up until now, the crossbows I have used have all been made by my own hands. I went into the forest to cut bamboo, buy wood, wrap thorns..., then painstakingly measured, sawed wood to the right proportions, polished, wound... Everyone said why bother making it yourself, now there are people in the village who make and sell crossbows. However, I think that the crossbow is closely associated with my competitive career, with every moment of success - failure, so I made it myself.”

So that special crossbow has been with Luong Thi Xuan throughout many ups and downs in her career and helped her achieve many achievements in competitions and sports events at all levels. Up to now, Xuan is the owner of 1 gold medal, 1 silver medal, 1 bronze medal for both individual and team crossbow shooting at the Cultural Festival of Ethnic Minorities in the Central region in 2015; bronze medal for crossbow shooting at the Festival of Thai Ethnic Groups in the Northwest region in 2014; many medals at provincial sports festivals... Loving the profession, being attached to the profession, dedicating herself to the sports industry of her district, but there are still concerns about many limitations that traditional sports face. Those are difficulties in terms of facilities, training investment costs, living conditions of coaches and athletes... Luong Thi Xuan shared: The difficulties are clearly before our eyes, but for me and my teammates, we have, are and will overcome all with passion and dedication.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Bao, Director of the Culture and Information Center of Que Phong district, said: “The faces of female athletes in traditional sports have made a strong impression on the district’s sports and physical training sector in recent times, and at the same time, are promising factors contributing to the province’s sports career in general. The most difficult thing is the mechanism of appropriate treatment for them. In the coming time, we will be more active and attentive so that female athletes have the best conditions to practice and compete.”

Phuoc Anh