Journey of competitors in "The Red Laurel”
The school of two champions
Hue people really know about the TV show "Road to Olympia" since Nguyen Thai Bao brought the first live broadcast to Quoc Hoc High School. The name Thai Bao was "the hottest" in 2005, everyone was complimenting the student on his excellence. There were fans that named their son Thai Bao.
I could feel that excitement as time to time, Thai Bao showed his intelligence, confidence and assertiveness competing with other contestants. Unfortunately, Bao did not win the laurel wreath as he was 10 points behind the champion that year.
The live broadcast returned to Hue in 2009. The dream of conquering the laurel wreath in "Road to Olympia" was stronger than ever before, since Nguyen Manh Tan missed the chance to compete in the final. That year, Ho Ngoc Han's match was considered the rarest as there were 5 competitors. The audience was breathless when witnessing Han's tough journey to be the first "Road to Mount Olympia" champion coming from Quoc Hoc High School.
Hue people would not forget the indescribable feeling when the live broadcast returned to Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted. After feeling regret about the missed opportunity of Thai Ngoc Huy in the final in 2011, 5 years later, they were filled with joys when Ho Dac Thanh Chuong confidently overcame obstacles to win the laurel wreath. Thanh Chuong was called the "cold-face champion", with a record of highest point (340) in the final match.
Nguyen Manh Dung became the champion in the contest "The Red Laurel"
15 students who participated in the program "Road to Mount Olympia" in a long journey earned considerable respect from many schools. TV viewers could not forget the boys from Quoc Hoc High School, smiling friendly, with gentle voice, eyes showing confidence and determination to win.
Motivation of competitors
Nearly twenty years have passed, the attraction of "Road to Mount Olympia" has never been reduced. It is intriguing because this is an intellectual battle for students in terms of knowledge and bravery. Therefore, every time that “The Red Laurel” is organized to choose candidates representing Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted, over 200 students register.
Success could not come easily, many of them cherished this dream since they were young, as they refused to join the specialized team in order to learn evenly all the subjects to prepare for the journey of "Road to Olympia" organized by VTV3.
Winning a laurel wreath and studying abroad in Australia would not be the lifelong dream. Nguyen Quang Anh, the contestant who stopped at the quarterly contest of "Road to Olympia" in the 15th year shared that he was no longer a "nerd". From being quiet and self-contained, he became more energetic, knowing how to socialize with others more and being actively involved in many community activities.
Like Quang Anh, many of the students who participated in the "Road to Olympia" revealed that the competition had become their motivation, and helped them to be more determined to get what they want. Moreover, the contestants, regardless of whether they won or not, had been inspired by the family of "Road to Olympia" with various experiences and skills on the journey of gaining knowledge.
Ho Dac Thanh Chuong, the champion of the “Road to Olympia” in 2016
Professor Nguyen Phu Tho, Principal of Quoc Hoc High School, proudly shared: “Quoc Hoc High School is one of the two schools in the whole country having the live broadcast 5 times. The number of champions is on top of the list. Currently, those who have participated in "Road to Olympia" have done very well at prestigious universities in the country as well as abroad. Some of them have returned to Hue to work, but many are still studying abroad or doing researches in developed countries with modern science and technology.”
The two “strong” contestants
Three years after Thanh Chuong won the "Road to Olympia" championship, Hue students keep the hope in Nguyen Xuan Thanh Dat, an 11th grade student specialized in math. Thanh Dat has a remarkable academic achievement as he won the Ta Quang Buu award, the award for the student with excellent achievements of grade 10.
Since knowing that he was one of the chosen students of the program, Dat has shown his determination to "gain" knowledge in many areas and studied anytime, anywhere. The school places their trust in Dat as he has studied evenly all subjects and his bravery like his "seniors" shown in every competition.
After Nguyen Xuan Thanh Dat, there will be Nguyen Manh Dung, a student of grade 10 Chemistry class 1, representative of Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted participating in "Road to Olympia 2020". It is not uncommon to see that Dung's general knowledge is considerable, as he is the champion of the "The Red Laurel" with an excellent score.
According to Dung, he knew the path of the program because he has had a passion for "Road to Olympia" since he was a child. Dung's strength is to study natural science subjects as he was the top 2 of chemistry specialized class in the school entrance examination. English is also his strength because he had a lot of experiences through cultural exchange activities with international schools.
"I am deepening my knowledge, as well as keeping a cool head, an effective strategy and an easy mind to fight as hard as I can on the road to conquer the upcoming Road to Olympia." Dung said.
According to the Secretary of the Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of Quoc Hoc High School Duong Thi Quynh Chau, these are the two best candidates of the program "The Red Laurel". They will be supported by a team of Quoc Hoc alumni and those who participated in "Road to Olympia" to support the necessary knowledge and skills for the upcoming competition.
Dat and Dung both have quite a long time to practice, both online and in-person. Both of them are set and ready.
Hopefully, after Ho Ngoc Han, Ho Dac Thanh Chuong ... Nguyen Xuan Thanh Dat and Nguyen Manh Dung will be the next names on the "Road to Olympia". I still believe, their journey to conquer the mountain of knowledge has never been disrupted. Television viewers are still waiting for the boys from Quoc Hoc High School showing their own identity in that intellectual gameshow.
Story: Hue Thu
Photos: Le Tho – CTV