When Nguyen Thanh Tung first performed on the stage at Vietnam Idol2012, he scored points with the public with his attractive appearanceand charming smile.
When he started singing, hemade people believe he belonged to a generation of rising singers. Whenhe rose to the contest's top six contestants, more people thought he hadno alternative but to pursue a singing career.
Infact, Nguyen Thanh Tung has already become known throughout the worldfor the martial art wushu, which he is now top ranked in.
Tung, himself, thinks wushu, a martial art originating in China, will be his love forever.
Born into a family in which no one practices martial arts, Tung wasadvised to take part in wushu classes to improve his physical strength,which was weakened by asthma.
The 11-year-old then followed his aunt, national coach Nguyen Phuong Lan, to train at the Hanoi Wushu Club.
Looking at her slender son, Tung's mother did not believe he wouldstand up to strenuous training. But he did a great job. After the firstyear of practicing, Tung not only had a healthy physique, but also fellin love with the martial art, which requires endurance and litheness.
He cannot forget the first tough days.
"At first, like my family, I trained with a view to become stronger.But then I gradually adored it. Practising wushu is not easy. It hurt,really hurt me. Athletes need to train to be lithe, like a gymnast,while we need to maintain footing (after each move and jumps). I had towork hard every day to have just one beautiful, but powerful move, as Iperform," Tung said.
"Sometimes, I was tired due tothe heavy practices, while the most difficult time was when I wasinjured, which made me really discouraged. But my parents and friendsencouraged me a lot and pushed me on," he added.
Oneyear later Tung was asked to join the Hanoi team and took part in thenational championships. In 2005 he became a national team member.
Spending much time in the sport, Tung had never thought of winning at aworld tournament, because he knew there were many masters in the worldand he did not have the skill to defeat them.
Therefore, the first medal he earned would be the most memorable one of his life.
"Coaches allowed me to take part in the World Junior WushuChampionships in Malaysia in 2005. It was my international debut, so Iwas very nervous and scared, but happy because it was a chance to meetwith many athletes from all over the world. But when I startedperforming, I felt really confident and had a perfect performance thatbrought me a gold," Tung said.
It has been about 10years now and the Hanoian has had a large number of titles which he wonat local and global competitions. He reached the world level with a goldin the taijiquan event, won at the world tournament in Turkey in 2011.
His latest award is a gold medal from the World Games held in Cali, Colombia, in early August.
Yet, at the age of 21, Tung, who is the key member of the nationalteam, has never won at a Southeast Asian Games competition.
In his first SEA Games experiences, Tung returned home empty handed.It was not until 2009 in Laos that he received a silver medal for hisstrong performance in taijiquan.
Over the next twoyears, he sharpened his skills for a rematch, but wushu was not to bepart of the SEA Games held in Indonesia. So he had to stay home, whilewatching other sportsmen compete on TV.
The 27th SEA Games is now approaching, with wushu competitions being held before the opening ceremony.
Tung and teammates in the taolu (performance) squad are expected tobring home the first medals, possibly the first gold, to the VietnamTeam.
He has to compete in both taijiquan and taijijian events for one all-round title.
The wushu team on Wednesday left for Myanmar with the hope of winningthree gold medals. The martial arts matches will take place tillDecember 10.
Multi-ability martial artist
Wushu is his strong point, while singing is his passion.
"Music is my hobby, which only comes after wushu. I have watchedVietnam Idol since the first season and dreamed of one day performing onstage," he said.
"But my busy calendar of trainingand competing have barred me from performing for a long time. But then Idecided to take part in the contest, because of my admiration for itand for the experience.
"I kept my registrationsecret, even from my mother, who always backs me in all decisions. Sheonly knew when I advanced to the Northern qualification and, as usual, Iwas strongly supported."
Coming to the contest,Tung did not set any target but, surprisingly, he received the love ofthe crowd which, as he said, gave him more confidence to continue withhis music.
During the contest, judge My Tam, one ofVietnam's leading divas, said Tung had a warm and attractive voice whichwould make him a successful singer if he had time to perfect hisconfidence and performing style.
Meanwhile,judge-director Nguyen Quang Dung said he was really surprised whenfacing a martial arts world champion, but he was even more interested inTung's voice.
That beautiful voice led Tung to thefinals of Vietnam Idol and placed him at N°6. The athlete had to standbehind competitors who have spent years singing and performing ondifferent stages.
While singing is his inborn talent, Tung also can play piano and violin, which he taught himself.
"I love music and have tried to test myself in different fields.However, wushu is my career, which has helped me grow up and I willnever leave it," said Tung.
"To music, I have not had anyfurther plans. If I have an opportunity in the future, I hope to takepart in activities, but just for fun.
"My dream areto perform in international championships and become a professionalcoach," said Tung, who is pursuing his academic studies at the Bac NinhSports College.-VNA
When he started singing, hemade people believe he belonged to a generation of rising singers. Whenhe rose to the contest's top six contestants, more people thought he hadno alternative but to pursue a singing career.
Infact, Nguyen Thanh Tung has already become known throughout the worldfor the martial art wushu, which he is now top ranked in.
Tung, himself, thinks wushu, a martial art originating in China, will be his love forever.
Born into a family in which no one practices martial arts, Tung wasadvised to take part in wushu classes to improve his physical strength,which was weakened by asthma.
The 11-year-old then followed his aunt, national coach Nguyen Phuong Lan, to train at the Hanoi Wushu Club.
Looking at her slender son, Tung's mother did not believe he wouldstand up to strenuous training. But he did a great job. After the firstyear of practicing, Tung not only had a healthy physique, but also fellin love with the martial art, which requires endurance and litheness.
He cannot forget the first tough days.
"At first, like my family, I trained with a view to become stronger.But then I gradually adored it. Practising wushu is not easy. It hurt,really hurt me. Athletes need to train to be lithe, like a gymnast,while we need to maintain footing (after each move and jumps). I had towork hard every day to have just one beautiful, but powerful move, as Iperform," Tung said.
"Sometimes, I was tired due tothe heavy practices, while the most difficult time was when I wasinjured, which made me really discouraged. But my parents and friendsencouraged me a lot and pushed me on," he added.
Oneyear later Tung was asked to join the Hanoi team and took part in thenational championships. In 2005 he became a national team member.
Spending much time in the sport, Tung had never thought of winning at aworld tournament, because he knew there were many masters in the worldand he did not have the skill to defeat them.
Therefore, the first medal he earned would be the most memorable one of his life.
"Coaches allowed me to take part in the World Junior WushuChampionships in Malaysia in 2005. It was my international debut, so Iwas very nervous and scared, but happy because it was a chance to meetwith many athletes from all over the world. But when I startedperforming, I felt really confident and had a perfect performance thatbrought me a gold," Tung said.
It has been about 10years now and the Hanoian has had a large number of titles which he wonat local and global competitions. He reached the world level with a goldin the taijiquan event, won at the world tournament in Turkey in 2011.
His latest award is a gold medal from the World Games held in Cali, Colombia, in early August.
Yet, at the age of 21, Tung, who is the key member of the nationalteam, has never won at a Southeast Asian Games competition.
In his first SEA Games experiences, Tung returned home empty handed.It was not until 2009 in Laos that he received a silver medal for hisstrong performance in taijiquan.
Over the next twoyears, he sharpened his skills for a rematch, but wushu was not to bepart of the SEA Games held in Indonesia. So he had to stay home, whilewatching other sportsmen compete on TV.
The 27th SEA Games is now approaching, with wushu competitions being held before the opening ceremony.
Tung and teammates in the taolu (performance) squad are expected tobring home the first medals, possibly the first gold, to the VietnamTeam.
He has to compete in both taijiquan and taijijian events for one all-round title.
The wushu team on Wednesday left for Myanmar with the hope of winningthree gold medals. The martial arts matches will take place tillDecember 10.
Multi-ability martial artist
Wushu is his strong point, while singing is his passion.
"Music is my hobby, which only comes after wushu. I have watchedVietnam Idol since the first season and dreamed of one day performing onstage," he said.
"But my busy calendar of trainingand competing have barred me from performing for a long time. But then Idecided to take part in the contest, because of my admiration for itand for the experience.
"I kept my registrationsecret, even from my mother, who always backs me in all decisions. Sheonly knew when I advanced to the Northern qualification and, as usual, Iwas strongly supported."
Coming to the contest,Tung did not set any target but, surprisingly, he received the love ofthe crowd which, as he said, gave him more confidence to continue withhis music.
During the contest, judge My Tam, one ofVietnam's leading divas, said Tung had a warm and attractive voice whichwould make him a successful singer if he had time to perfect hisconfidence and performing style.
Meanwhile,judge-director Nguyen Quang Dung said he was really surprised whenfacing a martial arts world champion, but he was even more interested inTung's voice.
That beautiful voice led Tung to thefinals of Vietnam Idol and placed him at N°6. The athlete had to standbehind competitors who have spent years singing and performing ondifferent stages.
While singing is his inborn talent, Tung also can play piano and violin, which he taught himself.
"I love music and have tried to test myself in different fields.However, wushu is my career, which has helped me grow up and I willnever leave it," said Tung.
"To music, I have not had anyfurther plans. If I have an opportunity in the future, I hope to takepart in activities, but just for fun.
"My dream areto perform in international championships and become a professionalcoach," said Tung, who is pursuing his academic studies at the Bac NinhSports College.-VNA
