Thanh Nhi, the former Asian Archery Cup champion, confidently entered ASIAD 19

Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhi is among 6 members of the Vietnamese archery team competing in the 2023 World Archery Championship in Berlin (Germany) in early August 2023. At the ASIA Cup - SHARJAH Asian Archery Championship held in Qatar in late 2022, Thanh Nhi scooped 1 gold in the individual event and 1 bronze in the women's team. Thua Thien Hue female archer also won 2 golds at the Singapore Archery Open 2022.

Freestyle wrestling athlete Nguyen Thi My Hanh is the owner of 1 bronze at ASIAD 2018 held in Jakarta (Indonesia). Nguyen Thi My Hanh lost in the bronze medal match to Japanese wrestler Risako Kawai. But later, My Hanh was awarded a bronze when the gold winner, Pürevdorjiin Orkhon (Mongolia), was stripped of the medal on account of being found positive for the banned substance. Previously in 2017, My Hanh won a silver in the under-59 kg weight category at the Asian Youth Wrestling Championship. Nguyen Thi My Hanh also won golds in three SEA Games (30th, 31st, and 32nd).

One gold medal fewer than My Hanh, Nguyen Thi My Trang also owns 2 golds in two SEA Games and is also the reigning SEA Games champion in women's freestyle wrestling. Recently in June 2023, Nguyen Thi My Trang was a member of the U23 Vietnam youth wrestling team attending the Asian U23 Youth Wrestling Championship 2023 in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) and won a valuable bronze in the 55kg category women's freestyle wrestling. In the round-robin match, Nguyen Thi My Trang had two victories against opponents Aruuke Kadyrbek Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan) and Jyoti Jyoti (India).

 Sisters My Hanh and My Trang are the great hope for the Women's Freestyle Wrestling team at this  ASIAD

The 19th Asian Games (ASIAD 19) will be held in Hangzhou (China) from September 23 to October 8, 2023, 1 year later than originally planned due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. This is the third time China has hosted the Asian Games, previously in 1990 and 2010.

The Vietnamese sports delegation participating in ASIAD 19 has 504 members (337 athletes) led by the Director of the Department of Sports and Sports Dang Ha Viet, competing in 31 sports. The departure ceremony of the Vietnamese Sports Delegation attending ASIAD 19 is expected to be held on September 16 in Hanoi, and the delegation members will depart for Hangzhou (China) on September 20.

Vietnam's sports target is to win 2-5 golds, with a focus on athletics, chess, and martial arts. However, according to experts, this is not an effortless task because it is a generational transition period for many strong sports, and there are many objective reasons why athletes' performance is no longer as good as before.

Talking to us about the prospects of the three Thua Thien Hue athletes, Mr. Bui Thanh Dung, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports, said that athletes Nguyen Thi My Hanh and Nguyen Thi My Trang are the biggest “hope” of the Women's Freestyle Wrestling team at this Asian Games. Meanwhile, Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhi, an archery athlete who won the Asian Archery Cup, will enter ASIAD 19 with enormous confidence.

By Ba Tri