Boxer Nguyen Van Tai - courage and belief

(Baonghean) - Winning the gold medal at the 27th SEA Games – the best achievement of Nghe An sports in international and regional competitions in 2015 – wushu fighter Nguyen Van Tai deserves to be considered the most noteworthy sporting figure of the province today.

An unexpected achievement

At the 28th SEA Games in Singapore, at 7:30 PM (Vietnam time) on June 8, 2015, Nguyen Van Tai entered the final match in the Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) event, under 65 kg weight category. His opponent was Tun Kyaw Lin from Myanmar.

Nguyen Van Tai (wearing black) throws a punch at the Myanmar fighter.

From the moment he entered the ring, clad in his black armor, the 22-year-old from Nghe An province unleashed a series of powerful and accurate punches, forcing his opponent into a defensive position. Tun Kyaw Lin was forced to jump off the mat several times after the Vietnamese athlete's fierce attacks.

In the end, Nguyen Van Tai won with a score of 2-0 to bring home the 26th gold medal for the Vietnamese sports delegation and the only gold medal for Nghe An province at the 28th SEA Games. This is also the first gold medal for Nghe An province in the last 3 SEA Games (since the gold medal won by sepak takraw athlete Nguyen Thi Thanh at the 25th SEA Games in 2009).

Notably, Tài's gold medal came as a surprise to many experts, because before the competition, Tài was not highly regarded, and the wushu team's coaching staff even considered letting him compete only for the purpose of learning and gaining experience. But the more he competed, the more Tài demonstrated his willpower and skill, ultimately winning the gold medal in his first SEA Games appearance.

Nguyen Van Tai's joy at his victory.

Starting a business from... athletics

Born in 1993 in Quynh Bang commune (Quynh Luu district), Nguyen Van Tai came to wushu quite by chance, while he was a talented athlete in… track and field. Coach Nguyen Van Hue of the Nghe An wushu team recounted: “In July 2007, during a visit to Quynh Luu to select athletes, I stopped by to watch the talented track and field athletes train. Observing Tai on the track at Cau Giat stadium, I saw that this 14-year-old boy had a solid physique, agile movements, and especially a good demeanor and aptitude to become a martial arts athlete. I went to his home and persuaded his family to let him train in wushu at the Provincial Sports Training Center.”

When I first made the offer, both Tài and his family were very surprised, because Tài had never trained in martial arts before. Furthermore, his family was struggling financially, and as the eldest son, his parents wanted him to stay home and help with daily chores. After persistent persuasion, Tài's parents finally agreed to let their son pursue martial arts, although they weren't entirely confident in his ability to succeed.”

While training in wushu at the Provincial Sports Training Center in Vinh City, Tài proved that Coach Nguyễn Văn Huệ had a keen eye for talent. In the Sanda (combat) discipline, Tài demonstrated superior skill compared to other athletes in the team. Regardless of the weather, after each training session, when the other martial artists had rested, Tài would often stay behind to ask Coach Huệ for additional instruction on movements or to improve his physical fitness. Furthermore, Tài regularly studied online videos of matches by famous Sanda athletes. Thanks to this, Tài gradually perfected his techniques and tactics, becoming the number one Sanda fighter of the Nghệ An wushu team.

A burning desire to compete on the international stage.

In 2009, Tài participated in his first tournament, the National Wushu Championship Cup, and won a Silver Medal. From 2010, Tài was called up to the national youth wushu team. During this time, Tài trained under rigorous programs from experienced coaches and competed against high-level athletes, especially undergoing grueling weight-cutting exercises for competitions.

But with strong will and determination, Tài overcame all difficulties to achieve impressive results in the following three years. These included a silver medal at the 2010 World Youth Championships, a gold medal at the National Youth Championships, and a silver medal at the 6th National Sports Festival, all in 2010; two gold medals at the national championships and the National Cup; a silver medal at the 2012 Asian Championships; and most notably, a silver medal at the World Championships in May 2013.

From the end of 2013, Tài experienced a series of misfortunes. First, at the 27th SEA Games held in Myanmar, the 65 kg weight category was not included as a competition event, so Tài missed the opportunity to participate in his first SEA Games. Then, in 2014, Tài suffered a series of injuries and failed to win any medals.

After that period, Tài made a strong comeback. At the 2015 National Wushu Championships held in April in Dak Lak, Tài won the gold medal in the under 70 kg category. This achievement earned Tài a spot at the 28th SEA Games, but he competed in the under 65 kg category. Another grueling weight-cutting training process followed, but Tài persevered and brought glory to Vietnamese sports.

As a national team member and a top-tier athlete in Nghe An's high-performance sports, Tai remains humble and simple both on the training ground and in his daily life. Since joining the provincial sports training center, understanding the hardships his family faces back home, Tai always saves his prize money to send back to his parents.

Tài shared: “Practicing martial arts has made me stronger, more resilient, and more agile in life. I found my passion, lived as a wushu athlete, traveled to many provinces, cities, and countries, met people, received honors, and felt proud when I brought home medals for the provincial and national wushu teams.”

In 2016, Tài's ultimate goal was to win a gold medal at the 2016 Asian Wushu Championships. This was a major competition for Vietnamese wushu athletes, bringing together many outstanding martial artists from countries such as China, India, and South Korea. Four years prior, Tài had won a silver medal at this same tournament.

Nguyen Van Tai (center) won the silver medal at the 2013 World Wushu Championships.

Standing 1.74 meters tall, with a dark complexion and a sturdy build, Tài stated: “At the 2012 Asian Championships, compared to athletes from other countries, I only reached their ears. Because of our physical limitations, our martial arts athletes often unfortunately missed out on medals. But I believe I will achieve good results at the competition, as I did at the 2015 SEA Games, to once again contribute to raising the Vietnamese flag on the international stage.”

Minh Quan