At the 2023 tournaments, Thua Thien Hue Jujitsu still aims for the "1 gold" target
First-time competition
At the last 9th National Sports Games 2022, Thua Thien Hue Jujitsu team claimed a gold by Van Suu in the 69kg-category Fighting; 1 silver by Do Hoang Lam in the 62kg-category Newaza; 2 bronzes by Ton That Liem in the 62kg-category Fighting and Nguyen Thanh Nam in the 77kg-category Newaza.
Jujitsu has only been included in the official competition system of Vietnam Sports Administration since 2019, so at the 8th National Sports Games 2018, it was not available, and that was the first time Jujitsu team had entered competition.
The target of having “gold” was initially a bit out of reach of the team.However, Thua Thien Hue Jujitsu team overfulfilled the target with a complete set of medals, fulfilled the quota set by the leadership and contributed to the outstanding achievements of Thua Thien Hue delegation.
Van Suu is a prominent name. Previously, Suu won golds at the 2021 National Club Championship and at the 2021 National Championship. Ton That Liem earned a silver at the 2021 National Club Championship and a silver at the 2021 National Championship. Do Hoang Lam scooped a gold at the Jujitsu Hanoi Open 2018, a bronze at the 2019 National Championship, a bronze at the 2020 National Club Championship and a bronze in the 2021 National Club Championship. Nguyen Thanh Nam, despite his modest achievements, got a bronze at the 2021 National Championship.
Jujitsu contributed to the outstanding achievements of Thua Thien Hue sports delegation
The gold by Van Suu at the 9th National Sports Games 2022 was dramatic. Before the official regulation of the Games, the only event expected to win a gold was Van Suu's Fighting, which was not included in the original regulation, so he trained to wait for next year's tournaments. It was not until the end of August 2022, when the official regulation contained Fighting, that Van Suu focused exclusively on training.
Coach Chu Minh Tuan confided, “Before September 30, I was working for the National Team at Hanoi National Training Center. After the official Regulation, the School Board of Thua Thien Hue Intermediate School of Physical Education and Sports called me in preparation for the games. The preparation time for the games had 1 small cycle. Van Suu had won a gold medal, so the School Board set the target: Jujitsu must "get" 1 gold for Thua Thien Hue Jujitsu team.
Due to the "gold" target at the games, in a short time, Jujitsu with a small number of athletes was viewed as a key subject by the School Board, and the athletes were given special attention. According to Mr. Chu Minh Tuan, during working at the National Team, he acquired a lot of knowledge about the rules and tactics of competition from international tournaments, so he has conditions to support athletes.
Having both feet on the ground
In 2016, Thua Thien Hue established Kimura Jujitsu Club to gather many potential young athletes. However, in order to have long-term and sustainable achievements, like many other sports, Jujitsu must have the quota for young athletes to receive methodical training, thereby hoping to win golds in the next games. At the 2021 National Championship, Jujitsu Thua Thien Hue won 3 golds, 6 silvers, 5 bronzes and ranked second in the entire team in Fighting, brilliantly exceeding the set target.
Thua Thien Hue is one of the first localities nationwide to start training Jujitsu, but Jujitsu has not yet become a main subject; most athletes train at the club level. If more quotas are invested, as the current National Team coach, Mr. Chu Minh Tuan said he could better support the Thua Thien Hue team.
Van Suu (born in 1997) remains the number 1 choice for the "gold" target of Jujitsu. Most of the famous athletes are older, like Nguyen Thanh Nam born in 1985, Do Hoang Lam born in 1986 or the youngest Ton That Liem also born in 1987. No worry is needed: “As a bamboo tree gets old, its shoots will sprout.”
In the Thua Thien Hue Jujitsu team, there is currently athlete Nguyen Thu Huong (born in 2001), who won a bronze in the 70kg category at the 2022 World Beach Cup in Pataya (Thailand). However, because the 9th National Sports Games 2022 had no 70kg category, Nguyen Thu Huong’s forte, and Huong had to reduce too much weight, Nguyen Thu Huong did not win any medal of the games.
In 2023, Jujitsu sport is expected to have 4 big tournaments. In March 2023, the Club Championship will be held in Bac Lieu Province. This was followed by the Southeast Asian Championship held in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) in April, and then in May, the Asian Championship in Bangkok (Thailand). In July 2023, the Youth Jujitsu Championship will be held in Thanh Hoa and in September 2023, the National Championship in Binh Duong.
According to Mr. Chu Minh Tuan, for domestic tournaments, Thua Thien Hue Jujitsu still aims for "1 gold", while for international tournaments, it only participates to get experience in the hope of winning a medal.
Story and photos: Ba Tri