Striker Vu Thi Hoa and her journey to winning the Gold Medal at SEA Games 32

Hoa's list of achievements was further enriched when she and her teammates recently brought home the Gold Medal at the 32nd SEA Games. However, few people know that behind those achievements is a thorny and difficult journey that she had to work extremely hard to overcome.

Continue writing dreams when dad is no longer around

Vu Thi Hoa was born into a family that could be called the poorest in the neighborhood. The difficult life made her aware from a young age that she had to put aside her personal interests to try to take care of the housework and help her family. Even though after school, she hurried home to look after her younger siblings or was busy with nameless jobs, she always felt regretful when she saw her friends playing with the ball.

For some reason, the round ball has a huge attraction for me. There were times when I couldn't control my passion, I ran into the yard to ask to play ball with the boys in the neighborhood.

And surprisingly! He played as well as his friends and brothers. He even showed early talent as a “little striker”.

Her father passed away early, so Vu Thi Hoa had to save every penny of her salary and bonus and send it back to her hometown to help her mother raise her younger siblings in their hometown of Do Luong. Photo: NVCC

Seeing his daughter's special talent for soccer, Hoa's father was very happy. Although many people were surprised that his daughter was so attached to a sport that was usually considered a male sport, Hoa's father overcame all the criticism and prejudice to create the best conditions for his daughter to practice with the soccer ball.

Later, to help his son develop his talent, he did not hesitate to accompany him on his journey to find professional training centers.

In 2014, when Vu Thi Hoa had just turned 11, her father decided to contact the Song Lam Nghe An training center to recruit his daughter. However, at that time, Nghe An only trained male players. Not discouraged, in 2015, he decided to take his daughter to Hanoi to find an opportunity for her to try her hand. Because she was too small for her age, the coach was very hesitant to accept her.

Vu Thi Hoa is known as the "penalty box killer" of Vietnamese football. Photo: NVCC

But then, seeing the determination, will and skillful ball-passing skills of that little girl, everyone gave her a chance to show herself. “The joy was overwhelming, at that time my father and I could not hold back our tears of happiness and emotion. I promised myself that I would practice hard so as not to waste the precious opportunity that I was given,” Vu Thi Hoa shared.

After joining the Hanoi women's team, Vu Thi Hoa tried her best to practice and play very well in the midfielder position. Thanks to that, she was selected for the Vietnam U16 team and trained at the Vietnam Football Federation. She participated in 4 consecutive tournaments and was called up to the U16 women's team to participate in the Southeast Asian U16 women's tournament and the National U19 women's tournament.

It seemed that that was the time when Vu Thi Hoa lived her passion to the fullest. Her biggest motivation at that time was probably the smiles of her parents back home watching her every step.

With a strong will to prove herself, Vu Thi Hoa has convincingly added to her list of achievements. Photo: NVCC

However, the storm suddenly came when I received the bad news that my beloved father had suddenly passed away in a work accident. The situation forced me to stop training for the U19 championship to return to my family.

Recalling that moment, Vu Thi Hoa still feels sad: “At that time, I couldn’t believe that I had lost my father. When I returned home, I saw my mother and siblings sitting next to my father’s coffin and I couldn’t believe what was happening. That was also the first time I felt such a great loss in my life. When I was at my most desperate, my mother came to me and said that the best way for my father to rest in peace was for me to continue to strive for my passion. And that was also what my mother wanted most from me. Therefore, after taking care of my father, I was determined to get up and compete with all my strength and passion…”.

Journey to thicken the golden board of achievements

Standing up after the incident, Vu Thi Hoa has contributed to the Vietnam Women's Team achieving countless impressive achievements in just a short period of time. Starting with the Southeast Asian U13 Women's Bronze Medal, the Southeast Asian U15 Women's Bronze Medal, 2 times Southeast Asian U16 Women's Championship, 3 times National U19 Women's Championship...

Vu Thi Hoa received the title of Best Young Female Player at the 2022 Vietnam Golden Ball Awards Gala. Photo: NVCC

At the 2022 National Women's Football Championship, the name Vu Thi Hoa - a player wearing the Hanoi I Club shirt suddenly shined. She excellently won the title of "Top scorer" with 9 beautiful goals throughout the season. Responding to the press, coach Mai Duc Chung - the teacher and father who helped Vu Thi Hoa's talent take off, did not hesitate to affirm that he highly appreciated Vu Thi Hoa's efforts and desire to prove herself. She has improved a lot and is considered a successor to the seniors like Huynh Nhu, Hai Yen... to carry the national women's team's attack.

SEA Games 32 is also one of the most important tournaments that Vu Thi Hoa first participated in. At the age of 20, Hoa is not the number 1 choice in the attack of the Vietnam Women's Team. However, every time the coach trusts her to take the field, the girl from Luong always tries her best to fight for the national flag. The first match atSEA Games 32The match that Hoa was in was the Vietnam team against Malaysia. In that match, Hoa was on the field in the last 20 minutes.

Vu Thi Hoa wears jersey number 18 in the Vietnam women's team. Photo: NVCC

Hoa's agility, dynamism and dedication to every move have scored points in the eyes of the coaching staff of the Vietnam Women's Football Team. In the following matches, Hoa was always brought onto the field by coach Mai Duc Chung when necessary. The experiences at the 32nd SEA Games will be a springboard for Hoa to grow more mature in the future. The Gold Medal in Women's Football at the 32nd SEA Games that Vu Thi Hoa and her teammates received will be a great encouragement for our golden girls to confidently continue on the upcoming journey.

Vu Thi Hoa's next goal is to try to practice well with the hope of continuing to receive the trust of coach Mai Duc Chung. Thereby, she will be selected by the coach to join the Vietnam Women's Team to participate in the upcoming World Cup.

Looking at the journey and achievements that Vu Thi Hoa has achieved with her passion for football, many people believe that she will continue to shine and realize her dream in this international arena./.