Olympic Athlete Pham Phuoc Hung: Motivation from his mother from Nghe An

(Baonghean.vn) - In the early morning of April 17 (Vietnam time), at the qualifying round in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), gymnast Pham Phuoc Hung excellently won a ticket to the Olympics. Via email, the young man whose mother's hometown is Nghe An had an interesting conversation with Nghe An Newspaper...

- First of all, congratulations to Hung for winning a ticket to the 2016 Olympics! It is known that Hung once suffered from a terrible disease that could have ended his sports career! How did Hung overcome it?

Pham Phuoc Hung (middle) shares joy with the coaches after winning a ticket to the Olympics.

Exactly 10 years ago, when I was 18 years old and a member of the National Gymnastics Team, I and my team went on a training trip to China. But on the second training session, I could not move because of the pain. The test results there showed that more than half of my lumbar vertebrae were corroded, and my spine was bent inward. The doctors diagnosed me with spinal tuberculosis and advised me to stop training, otherwise I would be paralyzed on one side.

When I returned home, I went to the Central Tuberculosis Hospital for a check-up, and the results were still the same. After that, the pain became more frequent and severe, I had to curl up when sleeping, and I walked as if I had a hunchback. After about 5-6 months of treatment, I missed gymnastics so much that I went to the Quan Ngua Gymnastics Club to watch the children practice and do some light recovery exercises.

After 12 months of treatment in Vietnam, I went to China for a check-up and found that my spine had healed quite a bit and my back pain had lessened. The doctors said that the tuberculosis bacteria were gone and I could move around but should limit it. I started asking my teacher to let me practice and returned to compete at the highest level after 3 months, at the 24th SEA Games.

- Hung's mother is from Nghe An. So does Hung have any deep memories of his maternal hometown?

When I was young, I loved going to Vinh City and Tan Ky District because my grandmother, uncles, aunts and siblings were there. Because I often trained in China, only in the years when I was able to return to Vietnam to celebrate Tet, could I go to my maternal hometown with my parents and younger sister. Every time I went back to my hometown, everyone took me to many places. When I went back to my maternal hometown, I loved eating cudo candy.

Pham Phuoc Hung with the bronze medal won at the 2016 World Gymnastics Championships Cup.

- In Hung's life and sports career, what role does his mother play?

My family is not rich, so my mother (Ngo Thi Van Hong) used to do many jobs such as sewing clothes, selling bread... to earn money for us to study and practice. My mother is always by my side, encouraging and taking care of me in everything, even the smallest things. Her determination and care are important motivations for me to compete and achieve success.

- What is Hung's goal at the upcoming Olympics?

The 2016 Olympics is my second and most likely my last Olympics. I hope that in this Olympics I can do what I couldn’t do 4 years ago, which is to win a medal. After that, I will strive to become a gymnastics coach.

Pham Phuoc Hung celebrates victory at the 28th SEA Games in 2015.

- On the occasion of the month of action for people with disabilities (April 18 - May 18, 2016), what message does Hung have for people with disabilities?

I wish the disabled and especially children and teenagers with unfortunate circumstances... good health, enough courage, determination and full of dreams to overcome all adversities of fate, to achieve their own successes!

Minh Quan

(Photo provided by the character)