The "golden girls" of Que Phong sports

(Baonghean) - The sports profession is inherently fraught with difficulties, and when associated with traditional sports, the hardships are multiplied. However, the "golden girls" of traditional sports in Que Phong district have always maintained their passion for competition...

Among the traditional sports in Que Phong, archery and stick pushing stand out. These two sports developed from 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 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 intense competition, Hong was busy in the fields harvesting rice to help her mother. The "golden girl" of Que Phong district's stick-pushing sport quickly wiped away the sweat and shared: "I won a gold medal at the recent National Stick-Pushing Championship. When I got home, I only had time to show my medal to my mother and the villagers before rushing back to the fields. My father passed away early, and it's just the two of us at home..."

Quang Thi Hong's family is considered disadvantaged in the commune, but Hong has always maintained her passion for the traditional stick-pushing sport of her people. She says her connection to the sport came about quite unexpectedly. In 2012, the Chau Kim Commune People's Committee organized a sports competition to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Hong was unexpectedly chosen to represent her village in the stick-pushing competition. “Honestly, I’ve known about stick-pushing since I was little, as it’s a traditional game of the Thai people during festivals and holidays. But this was my first time competing, and luckily I won first place in the sparring category. The coaches from the District Cultural and Information Center who were present at the competition recognized my talent and quickly met with me, encouraging me to train professionally,” recalled athlete Quang Thi Hong. From that initial encounter, Hong focused on learning about the competition format, the techniques of using the stick, and the appropriate footwork for each competitor…

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

Coming to competitive sports relatively late, the 23-year-old girl has affirmed her talent and efforts with an impressive list of achievements: a silver medal in stick pushing at the National Ethnic Minority Sports Festival in Region I held in Lai Chau province; a gold medal in stick pushing at the 7th Nghe An Provincial Sports Festival… To achieve these outstanding results, Hong shared that besides her own efforts and passion, she cannot fail to mention the enthusiastic support of her teachers, coaches, and leaders of the Culture and Sports sector as well as the government at all levels. “Many times I almost gave up because, honestly, district-level athletes compete in a ‘seasonal’ way, making it difficult to secure the financial means to support my family. Besides that, there was the mentality of ‘a girl should…’. But then, I felt sorry for my teachers who traveled far and wide, encouraged and guided me, even sharing the hardships with me, and I fell even more in love with the profession I had chosen,” Quang Thi Hong confided.

Like Quang Thi Hong, female crossbow athlete Luong Thi Xuan (Pieng Cu Resettlement Area, Tien Phong Commune) is a rather impressive figure in the traditional sports scene of Que Phong district. She is impressive because of her distinctive personality and her unusual love for the crossbow. The crossbow that Xuan often uses in competitions was made by her own hands. Luong Thi Xuan held out her hands, her hands pale but marked with the characteristic calluses of a veteran crossbow athlete, and said: “Since I was 8 or 9 years old, I’ve been fascinated by crossbows. All the crossbows I’ve used have been made by my own hands. I go into the forest to cut bamboo, buy wood, wrap it with thorns… then painstakingly measure, saw the wood to the correct proportions, sand it smooth, and string it… Everyone says, ‘Why bother making it yourself? There are people in the village who make and sell crossbows.’ But I think, the crossbow is connected to my competitive career, to every moment of success and failure, so I make it myself.”

Thus, that special crossbow has been associated with Luong Thi Xuan throughout her many years of ups and downs in her competitive career, helping her achieve many successes in competitions and sports events at all levels. To date, Xuan is the owner of 1 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze medal in both individual and team crossbow shooting at the Central Vietnam Ethnic Minority Culture Festival in 2015; a bronze medal in crossbow shooting at the Northwest Thai Ethnic Festival in 2014; and many medals at provincial-level sports festivals… Loving her profession, dedicated to it, and wholeheartedly contributing to the sports sector of her district, she still faces many challenges due to the limitations of traditional sports. These include difficulties in infrastructure, investment in training, and the living conditions of coaches and athletes… Luong Thi Xuan shared: “The difficulties are clearly visible, but for me and my teammates, we have, are, and will overcome them all with the belief that we are passionate and dedicated.”

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Bao, Director of the Culture and Information Center of Que Phong District, said: “The female athletes in traditional sports have made a strong mark on the district's sports sector in recent times, and are also promising factors contributing to the province's sports development in general. The biggest challenge is providing them with adequate remuneration. In the future, we will be more proactive and attentive to ensure that female athletes have the best conditions for training and competition.”

Phuoc Anh