Duc Nhan (left) during a training session with teammates
The precious flag
In the "baggage" that coach Pham Ngoc Thanh and his students brought back to Hue after the tournament held in Tien Giang (in mid-July 2018), there were six medals (3 gold medals and 3 bronze medals). Happily, apart from that achievement, Hue Taekwondo won the flag of the third-ranked female team out of the total of 44 units of provinces, cities and sectors involved.
Compared with the strong units in the country such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Army (league) and so on, the above achievements cannot be assessed as too great. However, for a medium-level sport unit in the national Taekwondo in general and Hue Taekwondo in particular, the successes are beyond expectation.
Since the foundation of the team (1988), Hue Taekwondo has won many team trophies in the tournaments of the national strong clubs. However, at the Youth Championship, winning the team prize has been just the thirst of Hue Taekwondo for nearly three decades. The reason is that this championship gathers a huge number of athletes from many provinces and cities across the country. This year's championship has about 1,000 athletes of 44 units involved, so the opportunity to compete for the medal is little, and that for a team prize is much less.
Coach Pham Ngoc Thanh, Head of Taekwondo Division of the Province said that because of the huge number of athletes, up to 30-40 athletes registered for competition at each weight class on average. For a bronze medal, every athlete had to score at least two successive victories.
For a gold medal, the prerequisite is that the athlete has to beat all opponents of the registered weight class. Team prizes are calculated on the basis of the total number of the medals won, so the units awarded the most gold medals will always win the precious flags – the team flags. As a default, this opportunity is always given to strong units.
Coach Pham Ngoc Thanh and his athletes were overjoyed at winning the team flag at the 2018 National Youth Taekwondo Championship
Taekwondo is the province's key sport. At the annual youth championship, coach Pham Ngoc Thanh’s team capability is not inexperienced ; however, on account of the force both small in number and present at various competition levels, the achievements at these championships were too modest to get the team prize. Most recently in 2016, Hue Taekwondo won up to 3 gold medals, but the medal number of other units was greater, so the boxers of Hue Ancient Capital resigned themselves to the fourth position in team order without any flags. This shows that the recent achievements are of enormous significance.
Optimistic signals
The recent tournaments of 2018, especially the tournament in which coach Pham Ngoc Thanh’s athletes performed the feat prove that Hue Taekwondo is having the signals of optimism from the young athletes, and this will certainly lay foundation for the teams in the near future.
The greatest anxiety of high performance sports has long been the lack of the next generation, especially the athletes who will participate in the highest tournaments in the national tournament system (the championships). However, the current strength is enough to allow Hue Taekwondo to relieve anxiety.
Do Thi Thanh Ngan and Ho Thi Linh Tam aged 17 are about to qualify to join the group of athletes for championship, strengthening the higher-level team. With the outstanding ability to "hunt" gold medals in big arenas, they will be certainly a generation contributing to Hue Taekwondo.
At present, Hue Taekwondo also has Ngo Duc Nhan and Nguyen Thi Tra My (born in 2000). With the available resources and hard training, the two boxers are rated potential at a higher competition level. Although in the recent tournament in Tien Giang, they only won the bronze medal in the age bracket of the first competition level, in view of the ability to compete and win gold medals in the previous years, fans can fully trust Duc Nhan, Tra My, veteran athlete Nguyen Thi Trang and many others will " cause difficulties” for the opponents in the 2019 tournament season.
Coach Pham Ngoc Thanh believes that the athletes will offer the training board of Taekwondo team the advantage in consideration when young athletes are trained at a higher level. Great determination and hardiness are known as Hue athletes’ strength. In the coming time, they will be able to do even more amazing things to contribute to the provincial sport.
Story and photos: Huu Phuc