The female martial artist who 'wins gold' in Taekwondo from Nghe An.

My connection with martial arts

Born in 2006, the fifth of six sisters in Thanh Thuy commune (Thanh Chuong district), Tran Thi Lan possessed a physique superior to her peers from a young age. Because of this physical advantage, while in sixth grade, during a playtime at school, Lan caught the eye of a martial arts teacher in the district. He introduced her to coach Dang Dinh Hung, the head of the Taekwondo department at the Provincial Sports Training and Competition Center. With her height and long stride, Lan was quickly selected to join the center.

One advantage for Tran Thi Lan was that, despite knowing that pursuing a career in sports would be difficult for their daughter, her parents enthusiastically supported and encouraged her to train hard. Thus, at the age of 12, after joining the Nghe An Taekwondo team, the girl from Thanh Chuong moved to Vinh City to live, study, and train in martial arts.

A martial arts athlete in a professional environment has to sacrifice many things, such as living away from home frequently, enduring grueling training, and constantly facing the risk of injury... However, her passion for sports helped Lan overcome moments of weakness, homesickness, and loneliness when she had to live independently at a young age. And the support and encouragement of her family motivated Lan to strive in training and competition.

Tran Thi Lan said: “In the beginning of training, because of my weak physical condition, I often lagged behind and was frequently reminded by the coach. But I didn't give up because of those difficulties. I tried harder every day, and with the encouragement from my family and coaches, I was able to overcome my physical weaknesses.”

In addition, during training and competitions, I've often been hit by dangerous kicks that caused excruciating pain, sometimes even making me feel like I was going to faint. However, when it comes to martial arts, I've determined that I must have courage and strive to train hard so that next time I can neutralize my opponent's attacks and counterattack."

Outstanding achievements

After nearly a year of training, at the age of 13, Tran Thi Lan had her first major competition: the 2019 National Youth Taekwondo Championships held in Lao Cai province. Competing outside of Nghe An province for the first time, Tran Thi Lan was inevitably overwhelmed and only managed to win a bronze medal.

But after that tournament, Tran Thi Lan's technique and competitive spirit improved significantly. A year later, at the 2020 National Youth Taekwondo Championships held in Ho Chi Minh City, Tran Thi Lan won her first gold medal in the 59kg weight category. In 2021, despite many sports competitions being canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Tran Thi Lan still managed to win a gold medal at the 2021 National Taekwondo Club Championships held in Thua Thien Hue province.

In 2022, Tran Thi Lan won a gold medal at the National Youth Taekwondo Championships and the National Taekwondo Club Championships. Also in that year, at her first international competition, the 2022 Southeast Asian Taekwondo Championships held in Vietnam, Tran Thi Lan also excelled, winning a gold medal.

In 2023, Tran Thi Lan continued to achieve outstanding results. Notably, at the 2023 Southeast Asian Taekwondo Championships held in Manila, Philippines, she successfully defended her title in the 68kg weight category.

Subsequently, this female athlete went on to win Gold medals at the National Youth Taekwondo Championships, the Korean Ambassador's Cup National Club Taekwondo Championships, and the ICTO International Club Taekwondo Championships; and won a Silver medal in the team event at the 2023 National Student Taekwondo Championships.

Most recently, at2023 National Taekwondo Championships for Outstanding AthletesHeld in Dak Lak province from December 2nd to 6th, Tran Thi Lan also excellently won a gold medal in the 63kg weight class, contributing to Nghe An's team winning first place overall in the women's category.

Coach Nguyen Thi Duong, a former national team member and coach of Tran Thi Lan, said: “Tran Thi Lan is a diligent athlete, very hardworking in training and highly conscientious in her eating, living, and daily life. In competition, Lan is very resilient, with her strengths being flick kicks, chopping kicks, and side kicks to the face. Her fighting spirit is also a strong point; if she loses a point, she will use 200% of her strength to regain it, showing great determination. However, this athlete's weakness is that her defensive ability is not yet truly solid; sometimes she is overconfident and loses focus.”

Tran Thi Lan also acknowledged this and added: “In 2023, my biggest regret was not being able to compete with more experienced seniors to qualify for the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia. Three months later, at the National Taekwondo Championship - one of the two most important national-level tournaments in Taekwondo - I couldn't maintain my form and didn't win a medal, so I also lost my position on the national team.”

However, passion and a burning desire to achieve success in major tournaments remain the goals Tran Thi Lan has set for herself. “There is still a long road ahead, and I am still young. Becoming a professional athlete is difficult, and pursuing it to achieve ultimate success is a challenging journey. Therefore, I will train and compete with 100% of my strength and ability, aiming to achieve the highest possible results in the tournaments I participate in and be called back to the National Team to participate in regional, continental, and world competitions,” Tran Thi Lan confided.

In recent years, the Taekwondo training movement has developed strongly in localities, attracting a large number of young people to participate in training. Thanks to this, we have discovered, selected, and trained many quality athletes, achieving impressive results at domestic and international competitions, with Tran Thi Lan being a prominent figure. Although there are still weaknesses to overcome, we believe that with her talent and efforts, Tran Thi Lan will go even further in her journey to conquer upcoming competitions.”

Coach Dang Dinh Hung – Head of Taekwondo Department at Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center