Female athlete Ho Thi Hao with her passion for wrestling

Cradles of sports

The first cradle that nurtured the spirit of sports for Ho Thi Hao (born in 2004) was her family and hometown.

Since their parents were farmers, from a young age, Hao and his brothers were familiar with farm work such as waking up early, plowing, herding buffalo, chopping firewood, carrying rice, etc. From these labor jobs and daily routines, Hao and his brothers have trained to have good physical strength and good health. Even during the days returning home for Tet, Hao still maintains his training schedule like at the center and takes the time to go to the fields to help his mother soak the rice.

In many communes of Do Luong district, people are very excited to participate in sports competitions during festivals at the beginning of the year. Photo: Huy Thu

Besides, the people of Thuong Son commune, Do Luong district - Hao's hometown - attach great importance to culture and sports. Every time Tet comes, Spring comes, the people in the hamlet and commune eagerly join in football matches, soccer matches, wrestling matches, stick fighting matches... This spirit of sports is the foundation for the commune to have up to 7professional athlete, in which, in Hao's hamlet 4 alone, there were 3 people.

Hao said: “My parents and brother are very good at sports. Every year, family members participate in spring sports exchanges. It not only has the meaning of improving health but also is a traditional cultural feature of the people here.” It was that martial arts culture and sportsmanship that motivated Hao to decide to become a professional wrestler.

Although she is a girl, Ho Thi Hao soon determined her goal on the path to becoming a professional wrestler. Photo: NVCC

In 2018, during a trip to Do Luong to recruit students, the coaches of the Provincial Sports Training and Competition Center saw the sports potential of a tall, bright student named Hao. After 2 tests, Hao was informed that she was qualified to study wrestling at the center. Receiving this result, Hao's family burst into unexpected joy. Hao eagerly packed his bags and followed his parents to Vinh to enroll in a new school - this was the next cradle to nurture his passion for sports.

Efforts on the professional path

At home, he was so responsible and mature, but when he arrived in Vinh, as soon as the bus carrying his parents back to their hometown started, Hao's tears kept falling. Hao still remembers the feeling of sadness and loneliness at that time very clearly. At the age of 14, Hao entered his room at the dormitory of the Provincial Sports Training and Competition Center with the mindset of a youngest brother.

Ho Thi Hao is always aware of the importance of training and discipline in life. Photo: NVCC

Having been accustomed to a disciplined lifestyle at home, Hao easily adapted to the center's schedule. Originally a neat, tidy, hardworking, polite girl, the youngest sister quickly integrated with the other girls in the room and was loved by everyone in the class. "At first, the training regimen and the teachers' requirements were not high, so I did not find it too difficult. However, when I entered the official program, I fully understood the hardships and difficulties that professional athletes have to go through and I really admired my seniors" - Hao confided.

One of Hao's most unforgettable memories during his early training was the pull-up and parallel bar exercises to improve his physical strength. As a challenge, Hao was forced to complete this exercise with a much higher intensity than before. Continuously practicing pull-up for a long time, Hao's hand skin was scratched until it bled, every movement on the bar made his whole hand numb and burning. Everyone knew this, Hao waited for someone to tell him to stop and go bandage his wound but no one came. Struggling to complete the exercise, Hao hurried back to his room, bursting into tears with the thought of giving up this path. Hao recalls: “At that time, I called my family and wanted my parents to pick me up. But then I realized that this was the teachers’ test to see if I could overcome it or not. If I could not overcome the feeling of resentment and pain, I would never be successful. Thinking so, I decided to stay and get ready for the next challenges.”

Hao and his dormitory roommates. Photo: NVCC

So, Hao continued to stay at the center with admirable perseverance and endurance, diligently following the training schedule, gradually conquering difficult techniques such as bracing, wrapping, chopping, tucking, breaking legs, throwing..., calmly overcoming accidents during training. "I'm so lucky that I stayed because thanks to that, I have an extra roof with extremely kind brothers and sisters, ready to support, always advise and teach me" - Hao was moved.

After 4 years of training at the center, the youngest sister of the dormitory has now become an exemplary big sister of the younger students, continuing to accompany, support, and help them overcome challenges. Talking about the upcoming journey, Hao confided: "The dream of becoming aprofessional athleteand staying with the center for a long time is the common dream of all athletes here. However, the opportunities are not many and the need for food and money makes many of them give up this dream, which is extremely regrettable. I always hope that I will have enough capacity and courage to make that dream come true."

Young athlete Ho Thi Hao. Photo: NVCC

Entering the new year, the young girl of Nghe An wrestling team aims to make more efforts, work harder to bring more achievements to her homeland. With modesty, eagerness to learn and great determination, I believe Hao will not stop at the achievement of Bronze Medal in Freestyle Wrestling in the age group of 16, 17, 61 kg weight category at the National Classical Wrestling and Freestyle Youth Championship.