Athletes of Karatedo and Wrestling training
No pain, no gain
Back from the national strong club championship (in Phu Yen) and national youth championship (in Quang Nam) in July and August 2022, coach Le Van Loc, Head of the Provincial Karatedo Division continuously brought good news when winning as many as 4 golds, 7 silvers, and 18 bronzes.
At the national championship of strong clubs alone, Mr. Loc's team scooped as many as 3 golds, 5 silvers, and 9 bronzes. At the two latest tournaments, Ho Thi Hoai Thanh, a female athlete from the A Luoi mountain region, "pocketed" up to 2 golds and 1 silver.
Hoai Tanh in stable form continuously reaped achievements in the provincial Karatedo in the past time. Learning this martial art at age 12 and experiencing many years of hard training, the female athlete born in 2001 shows great maturity. So far, coach Le Van Loc has expected a medal at the upcoming National Sports Festival from the girl born in A Luoi land.
Ho Thi Hoai Thanh is just one of many names that bear witness to the high-performance sports training strategy of the Ancient Capital. Right at the Hue Karatedo division, the names like Le Minh Thuan winning the gold at the 29th SEA Games (in 2017) or other successful athletes like Le Trung Dung, Ho Dinh Thuan, Nguyen Duy Hieu, and Ho Thi Ha. .. all came from the process of recruitment and training from the gifted to youth level, then claiming medals at the national championships.
Athletes of Karatedo and Wrestling training
Thua Thien Hue currently has more than 500 athletes training and competing in 13 high-performance sports. The strategy applied over the years is recruitment and training from a very young age.
Mr. Bui Thanh Dung, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports, said that all divisions are invested from the gifted athlete level and youth level to the provincial team level. Especially for football, the investment is made from the U11 - U13 - U15 - U17 - U19 age group to team 1.
To have athletes who can compete for medals at national championships, recruitment and training take 7-10 years according to the sports, through a lot of competition and screening from tournaments.
Thua Thien Hue sports focus on a long-term strategy to ensure long-term effectiveness. Athletes have, therefore, attached to, matured from the training place, and devoted themselves more to provincial sports. "Athletes rich in performances later reaching maturity can be assigned to coaching," affirmed coach Le Van Loc.
Taking stock of many sports in the province, training can be likened to " no pain, no gains". Typically in Hue wrestling, the 4 sisters My Hanh - My Trang - My Linh - My Tien with a series of domestic and international medal collections are unmissed proof.
Coach Nguyen Van Hien, Head of the Provincial Shuttlecock Division, shared, “Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh and the gold medal at the 2019 World Cup made me burst with emotion. In sports, there is nothing more joyful than the moment of a coach witnessing the student he trained from the start step on the rostrum to receive the medal. The "sweet fruit" is doubtless bigger; the fans are also far prouder than an athlete who is recruited from another unit and reap the same performance."
Investment in training and competition
Effective recruitment and training of athletes is the key to athletes' performance. The investment in training and competition is especially of paramount importance.
Frankly, vis-à-vis many other localities, Thua Thien Hue does not have too abundant resources to invest heavily in sports, but it basically meets the requirements according to the regimes and policies. Difficulties in sports in terms of modern facilities, incentives for athletes, and many other factors must always be a concern, but the province is seeking more resources to invest in sports development.
In that context, in order to serve the long-term strategy, flexibility and effort from the training board of the sports are needed. Coach Dinh Van Kien, Head of the Wrestling division of the province, shared that the training board assesses the athletes' abilities, strengths, and weaknesses and uses the existing facilities to develop appropriate lesson plans and drills. Concurrently, it takes into account the structure of the tournaments in the year to make it possible for athletes at all levels to have the opportunities for competition to increase their experience.
Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Culture and Sports, Mr. Bui Thanh Dung affirmed that the locality and sector always seek the best possible conditions to support sports in recruiting, training, fostering, and developing talent. Difficulties of teams and sports are given attention and resolved in the expectation of helping the sports bring pride to the homeland and the fans.
Story and photos: HUU PHUC