The Golden Hope of Nghe An Martial Arts Almost Became a Volleyball Athlete

Motivation to overcome difficulties

Born in 2005, the third child in a farming family of 4 sisters in Dai Son commune (Do Luong), perhaps Nguyen Thi Mai would still be a district school student if she did not have special qualities: height and agility. At the age of 13, Mai was already over 1m6 tall and in physical education classes, Mai always showed agility and strength that were superior to her peers.

Because of that superiority, one time Mr. Phuong - Mai's physical education teacher asked her: "You have the qualities of a volleyball player. Do you want to go to Vinh to audition for athletes?". After a moment of thinking, the 7th grade student nodded in agreement.

Although she has only been a professional athlete for more than 4 years, female Kickboxer Nguyen Thi Mai has achieved many impressive achievements. Photo: NVCC

“At that time, I was not good at volleyball or any other sport, so I thought I had no chance of being accepted. But because I wanted to go to the city for a trip, I accepted Mr. Phuong’s offer. With my parents’ permission, I went to Vinh city with him. When I got to the volleyball class, the teacher in charge there said to me, “The class is already crowded, why don’t you go to the martial arts class to audition?”

So I was taken to meet Mr. Bui Duy Vinh in Boxing and Kickboxing. After looking at me for a while, Mr. Vinh asked me, "Do you want to be a martial arts athlete?". I was active and mischievous since I was little, so when I heard about martial arts, I was quite excited, even though I had never practiced martial arts before. When I went to Do Luong to ask my parents for permission, at first they were hesitant because they thought "girls who learn martial arts will have difficulty getting married", but then they said, "If you like it and are passionate about it, we will support your decision", Nguyen Thi Mai shared.

Packed up and moved to Vinh to become a young athlete of Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center, after the initial excitement, Nguyen Thi Mai began to face unforeseen difficulties. Being away from home for the first time, without her parents by her side, Mai cried a lot in the first weeks.

“At that time, the teachers, especially the seniors, encouraged me a lot, because they were all from the district and understood the feeling of being away from home. Every evening, the sisters in the room came to my bed to chat and confide, so I gradually stopped feeling homesick. After a while, I also began to adapt and get used to everything,” Nguyen Thi Mai recounted.

After overcoming her homesickness, Nguyen Thi Mai faced even greater difficulties when she started practicing. “When I came to Vinh, I had no idea what martial arts were. When the teacher started teaching me techniques, I realized that learning martial arts was not simple. Teacher Bui Duy Vinh had to guide and teach me every step of the way so that I could absorb and perform the techniques correctly. There were difficult techniques that had to be practiced over and over again – that was when I felt most discouraged. Combined with the physical exercises, I was often so exhausted that I began to lose my confidence.

Luckily for me, the teacher understood my difficulties, so after the practice sessions, he sat down to talk and encourage me. Then, in moments of discouragement, I thought about my family, about my parents who were working hard in the countryside to be more determined, and promised myself to do better so that my parents would not have to worry and would feel proud of me," Nguyen Thi Mai confided.

Impressive medal

As the difficulties gradually passed, Nguyen Thi Mai became stronger and more mature than her age. In June 2019, after less than a year of training, 14-year-old Nguyen Thi Mai was tested in her first tournament, the National Youth Kickboxing Championship held in Gia Lai province. Although she only won a Bronze Medal, Mai also made her mark as one of the youngest athletes in the tournament.

Nguyen Thi Mai (far left) and teammates of Nghe An team participating in the 2022 National Kickboxing Cup Championship. Photo: NVCC

A year later, when this tournament was held in her home province, Nguyen Thi Mai excellently won the Gold Medal in the 52 kg weight class. After not participating in any tournament in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in March 2022, Nguyen Thi Mai participated in the 2022 National Kickboxing Cup Championship in Gia Lai province and won the Gold Medal.

However, for Nguyen Thi Mai, the most memorable memory was at the National Kickboxing Cup Championship this year. “The tournament took place right when I was old enough to participate, so the teacher did not set a target for me to compete comfortably. And I also did not think I would make it to the finals. My opponent in this match was an athlete from Thai Nguyen who had won many championships in this sport.

Before the final match, I was very nervous because I was facing a veteran athlete with many achievements. But coach Bui Duy Vinh encouraged me: "Getting to the final is already a success, so you should do your best regardless of the result of the match." Then I suddenly saw sadness in my coach's eyes because out of 13 athletes from Nghe An, only I could compete in the final match. Therefore, I was determined to compete with all my might to erase my coach's sadness," said Nguyen Thi Mai.

Nguyen Thi Mai talks with her coach during a match at the 2022 National Kickboxing Cup Championship. Photo: NVCC

The final match took place in 3 rounds, each round was 2 minutes long. In the first round, Nguyen Thi Mai was not able to catch up with her opponent so she was hit a lot and lost. But in the next 2 rounds, when she understood her opponent's fighting style, Nguyen Thi Mai used appropriate tactics to overwhelm her. "When the result was announced, I was nervous and shaking. When my hand was raised, my emotions exploded. And when I also saw the smile of the teacher looking up at me, I was really happy and joyful", Nguyen Thi Mai shared.

Nguyen Thi Mai (red shirt) overwhelmed her opponent in the final match of the 2022 National Kickboxing Cup Championship. Photo: NVCC

Thanks to her impressive performance at the 2022 National Kickboxing Cup Championship, Nguyen Thi Mai was called up to the national Kickboxing team. Currently, this female martial artist is training hard with the goal of winning a Gold Medal at the National Sports Festival taking place in mid-December in Quang Ninh province.

“I will try my best to complete the target, not letting down the teachers at the Sports Training and Competition Center who have trusted me. In addition, my family is always a solid support and also a source of motivation for me to strive for the best results in the upcoming tournaments.”

Kickboxing athlete Nguyen Thi Mai (Nghe An Province Sports Training and Competition Center).