Thua Thien Hue Karatedo team

Target surpassed

Karatedo is one of the first sports in the arena of the 9th National Sports Festival 2022. Right on the first day of the competition, athlete Ho Thi Hoai Thanh of Thua Thien Hue excellently won gold in the 44kg women's individual Kumite, fulfilling the target of "contributing gold" to the provincial sports delegation.

Despite no advantage in terms of height (Hoai Thanh, 1.6m tall), this Pa Co female boxer competed with great composure, at a good pace, and knew how to seize every opportunity from hand attacks. Against her teammates, Hoai Thanh stands out in a stable mentality, competing without fear of any opponent, even athletes of the national team.

That psychological toughness helped Thanh overcome obstacles to train hard, even when injured. Notably, it was the understanding of the opponent, the serious training spirit, and the research on the opponent from the coaching board that offered the opportunity for Hoai Thanh to bring the best performance to the Karatedo team.

Pa Co girl Ho Thi Hoai Thanh brought "gold" to Thua Thien Hue Karatedo

“Ho Thi Hoai Thanh clinched the gold right on the first day of the competition. This was a great encouragement for the whole team to strive for the target set at the festival, thereby contributing to raising the position of Hue's high-performance sports in the national arena," said head of the Hue Karatedo Division, Mr. Le Van Loc.

The 9th National Sports Festival Karatedo Prize 2022 attracted 405 athletes from 39 provinces, cities, and sectors, competing for 25 sets of medals in the following events: men’s and women’s individual Kata, mixed team Kata, men's team Kumite, women's team Kumite, men's and women's individual Kumite at many weight categories, etc.

Thua Thien Hue Karatedo team had 17 athletes entering the competition. The target to strive for was a set of gold-silver-bronze medals. Hearteningly, that target was soon surpassed: aside from Ho Thi Hoai Thanh's gold, the Thua Thien Hue Karate team also had 1 silver and 4 bronzes. Thua Thien Hue Karatedo ranked 11th out of 36 participating delegations.

The silver medal went to Tran Viet Duy Quan (71kg men's Kumite). Four bronze medals went to Ho Dinh Thuan (75kg men's  Kumite), Le Minh Thuan (84kg men's Kumite), Le Trung Dung (84kg men's Kumite), and the mixed team Kata (including Nguyen Duy Hieu, Pham Dinh Son, Tran Ngoc Thanh Truc, Tran Viet Thai).

Anxiety remains

Alongside wrestling, athletics, chess, taekwondo, and swimming-diving, Karatedo is identified as a key group 1 sport that needs investing in the immediate stage of Thua Thien Hue Province.

At the 9th National Sports Festival 2022, Thua Thien Hue Karatedo Team contributed 1 gold, 1 silver, and 4 bronze medals. At this festival, in order to strive for the set target, the team started to build a force of athletes nearly 4 years ago.

As planned, from early 2022, the team trained intensively to prepare for the all-out competition at the festival taking place from November 26 to 30.

Tran Viet Duy Quan scooped a silver in the 71kg men's Kumite

The real situation of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused many difficulties in training and implementing the set target of Thua Thien Hue Karatedo. Only after a year of suspension due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, in July did Thua Thien Hue Karate athletes participate in the National Karatedo Clubs Championship 2022.

One month later, coach Le Van Loc's students continued to participate in the National Youth Karatedo Championship 2022 taking place at Quang Nam Province Gymnasium. At the two top national tournaments mentioned above, coach Le Van Loc’s team won 4 golds, 7 silvers, and 18 bronzes.

Coach Le Van Loc added that aside from the professional difficulties, one year without competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the incentive funds for athletes, including grandmasters and talent, were reduced to only 5,000,000 VND. Not only the students but also the leader himself were so worried. We hope that there will be a more satisfactory incentive policy from the State and local authorities for athletes.

Also according to coach Le Van Loc, despite many difficulties, Thua Thien Hue Karatedo athletes attending this National Sports Festival always have the will to overcome difficulties and compete with the spirit for the honor of the unit, division, and the glory of the home province.

Story and photos: BA TRI