Athlete Pham Phuoc Hung - Striving to overcome illness
(Baonghean) - Pham Phuoc Hung, the "golden boy" of Vietnamese gymnastics, was born on June 16, 1988, in Vi Thanh City, Hau Giang Province. Hung's father is Mr. Pham Van Loi, and his mother is Mrs. Ngo Thi Van Hong. Hung's paternal hometown is in Phu Tho, and his maternal hometown is in Vinh City, Nghe An.
Currently, Hung possesses 80 medals of various kinds in gymnastics both domestically and internationally, including 34 gold medals, 27 silver medals, and 19 bronze medals. Hung has won gold medals at the 23rd, 24th, and 26th SEA Games and notably ranked seventh at the World Gymnastics Championships.
Earlier this year, Pham Phuoc Hung performed exceptionally well, earning a ticket to the 2012 Olympics. To achieve this result, Hung had to go through an extremely arduous training process, at times seemingly insurmountable. While in first grade at Hoang Dieu Primary School (Hanoi), Hung was selected and left his parents and family to train in China.
Ten years later, upon returning to Vietnam, Hung participated in the National Sports Games and won a Gold Medal. At the 23rd SEA Games, Hung also won a Gold Medal. After the 23rd SEA Games, Hung suffered from spinal pain and, upon examination, was diagnosed with bone tuberculosis. After a period of treatment and intensive training, Hung's health recovered and returned to normal. From then on, Hung continued to participate in the 24th and 26th SEA Games, winning Gold Medals in both. Subsequently, Hung participated in the World Gymnastics Qualifiers for the 2012 Olympics. As a result, Hung ranked 43rd out of 98 participating athletes, becoming one of the 5 Vietnamese athletes to participate in the 2012 Olympics.
Following Hung's example, his younger brother, Pham Phuoc Hieu, also caught the eye of Chinese experts when he entered first grade. Currently, Hieu is studying in China – the same place where his older brother spent over 10 years training. According to the Chinese experts, Hieu has more potential than Hung. Another valuable fact is that both brothers speak Chinese quite fluently.
The people from the outskirts of Vinh wish the two brothers, Phuoc Hung and Phuoc Hieu, success and the contribution to bringing glory to the nation in the 2012 Olympic Games.
Bui Dinh Sam
