Vietnamese Taekwondo: A Long Slip from the World

In the qualifying round held in Manila (Philippines), the Vietnamese Taekwondo team performed unconvincingly and for the first time since 2000, failed to qualify for the Olympics. This is a sad thing, but it also reflects the reality of this martial art in recent years.

Video of the sad reality of Vietnamese taekwondo (copyright belongs to VTV):

.

Looking back less than a year ago, Vietnamese taekwondo surpassed both Thailand and the Philippines to become the number 1 power in Southeast Asia with 5 gold medals and 3 silver medals at the 28th SEA Games. Winning 3 gold medals in combat is also considered a miracle because for many years, Vietnam has fallen far behind many countries in the region and Asia in this event. However, that "miracle" is not enough to accurately reflect the current strength of taekwondo.

When will Vietnamese taekwondo repeat the silver medal feat of martial artist Tran Hieu Ngan at the 2000 Sydney Olympics?

Even with the green light for a short training trip to South Korea - the cradle of taekwondo, the Vietnamese team still cannot compare with the general development of the world. Especially at a time when the competition for tickets to the Olympics is increasingly fierce.

Returning to the 2016 Rio Olympics qualifying round held in Manila (Philippines), the Vietnamese team participating included 4 martial artists (2 men, 2 women) in 4 weight categories. Among them, Truong Thi Tuyen is the number 1 seed in the women's under 49 kg weight category, while Ha Thi Nguyen - 3-time SEA Games champion in the women's under 67 kg category, did not show her best form and only finished 3rd overall (According to new regulations from the World Taekwondo Federation, only 2 martial artists in the finals are eligible to attend the Olympics).

Nguyen Van Duy (men's under 58 kg) and Phan Trung Duc (men's under 68 kg) also did not create any surprises by having to stop at the quarter-finals (although they were exempted from the round of 16).

Looking at neighboring countries, Vietnamese taekwondo feels even more heartbroken. Thailand won 2 spots, Cambodia and the Philippines each got 1 spot to Brazil. Not only that, this failure makes the dream of repeating the miracle of winning the Olympic silver medal that martial artist Tran Hieu Ngan achieved at the Sydney Olympics 2000 become even more distant.

To regain its former glory, taekwondo needs to be invested in more strongly, quickly access modern training methods and receive professional support from good experts around the world.

According to khampha.vn