Vietnamese taekwondo poomsae athletes in their performance (Photo: vothuat.vn) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The Vietnamese taekwondo teams will be closely watched duringthe upcoming SEA Games in Malaysia, with the artists expected to win at leastfour gold medals.
Both thepoomsae (performance) team under coach Nguyen Thanh Huy, which is training inHCM City, and the kyorugi (combat) fighters under coach Vu Anh Tuan inHanoi will have heavy responsibility on their shoulders.
Poomsae artistswon two gold medals in the mixed doubles and the women’s team events at thelast games in Singapore in 2015.
They willbe expected to defend their top positions this year too, although there havebeen changes in personnel.
Defendingchampions Nguyen Minh Van and Nguyen Minh Tu of the mixed doubles team haveretired. They will be replaced by Chau Tuyet Van and Ho Thanh Phong.
While Vanhas grabbed gold medals in many tournaments in the world, her partner Phongwill make his SEA Games debut.
FreshmanPhong, who will also compete in the men’s team category, is confident ahead ofthe event.
“Eachdiscipline has positive points, which pushes me to challenge myself. I will trymy best in both. I am confident, and I feel no pressure to perform,” Phong said.
“He isonly new to the SEA Games. He has been training with us for four years and hastaken part in international events since 2016. He has joined the men’s teamwith me and (Nguyen Thien) Phung for two seasons now,” Le Hieu Nghia, who wonthe men’s team silver in Singapore, said.
Phong,Nghia and Phung won a gold in the World Beach Taekwondo Championship in May.Earlier, Phong took part in various international tournaments in France,Kazakhstan and Malaysia.
Van,along with Nguyen Thi Le Kim and Lien Thi Tuyet Mai, will have to defend thewomen’s team title.
She isnot worried about her technique but the quality of referees.
In Singapore, Van and her teammates were placedsecond behind Thailand when a judge made mistakes with the score, leading tolower points for Vietnam.
Afterlodging complaints, the two teams performed again, and Vietnam were announcedwinners.
“My onlyworry is the referees. However, I will not let it affect my mind. Together withmy teammates, we will show the people our unique and best skills,” Van said.
Sharing Van’sopinion, Le Kim said, “To avoid such problems, we must perform without anymistake; it must be a perfect show.”
The biggestrivals for Vietnam at the SEA Games are Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.
“Myathletes have won gold medals in Asia and the world events. However, SEA Gamesare different. If they do not try their best, they will not succeed,” coach Huysaid.
“Indonesiahave been growing strongly. Malaysia are the hosts. However, I see Thailand asour arch-rivals. They have received strong support. Under the Republic of Korea’sexperts, they got good results in both poomsae and kyorugi in the recent worldtournament,” Huy said.
“Vietanm havethe highest ranking among the Southeast Asian countries, but I will still makeseveral changes to ensure we get the best results in the games.”
“Thailandwill present young athletes who are tough, excited and thirsty for victory.However, I have a strong drive too,” Van, who will compete in a worldtournament for students in Chinese Taipei before flying to Malaysia, said.
In Hanoi,the combat team are giving the final touches to its performance before the SEAGames.
Threeathletes who triumphed in Singapore are still in the team, and they are readyto fight.
Truong Thi Kim Tuyen will be carrying highexpectations.
InSingapore, Tuyen won her first SEA Games title after beating Irene ThereseBermejo of the Philippines in the final of the women’s 46kg category.
Shegrabbed a silver medal in the World Championship in the Republic of Korea inJune this year. In the semi-final match, she beat Thai Napaporn Charanawat, theOlympic bronze medallist, for a berth in the final.
Her result is the best for Vietnam ever in a world tournament.
“Winningdepends on various factors. We must follow our coaches’ tactics, do our bestand hope for a bit of luck. The world championship silver will drive me on myway to defending my SEA Games title,” she said.
Another medal hopeful in the team is veteran Ha ThiNguyen, who won a gold in the women’s 62kg in the last Games. Nguyen is aspecial athlete, as in the 2011 Games in Indonesia, she championed in the U73kgcategory.
Nguyen VanDuy will lead Vietnam’s campaign in the men’s category. He is the defendingchampion in the men’s 58kg category in the games.
Apart from the trio, Ho Thi Kim Ngan is a rising star. The 1.78m tallfighter will compete in the women’s 49kg class. She has the perfect kicks thatgot her a gold medal in the Asian championship for junior and cadets in 2015.She then grabbed the world title for juniors a year later. This June, Ngan, 16,pocketed a gold at an international tournament in the Republic of Korea.
“Based onwhat we have prepared, we are confident and ready for the games. All ourathletes are determined to grab the best results for Vietnam,” coach Tuan ofthe combat team said.
At least16 sets of medals are available at the Malaysian SEA Games.
Vietnam toppedthe Singapore Games with five golds and three silvers. The Philippines weresecond with three gold, three silver and two bronze medals, while Thailand wasthird with three gold, two silver and three bronze medals.-VNA
Both thepoomsae (performance) team under coach Nguyen Thanh Huy, which is training inHCM City, and the kyorugi (combat) fighters under coach Vu Anh Tuan inHanoi will have heavy responsibility on their shoulders.
Poomsae artistswon two gold medals in the mixed doubles and the women’s team events at thelast games in Singapore in 2015.
They willbe expected to defend their top positions this year too, although there havebeen changes in personnel.
Defendingchampions Nguyen Minh Van and Nguyen Minh Tu of the mixed doubles team haveretired. They will be replaced by Chau Tuyet Van and Ho Thanh Phong.
While Vanhas grabbed gold medals in many tournaments in the world, her partner Phongwill make his SEA Games debut.
FreshmanPhong, who will also compete in the men’s team category, is confident ahead ofthe event.
“Eachdiscipline has positive points, which pushes me to challenge myself. I will trymy best in both. I am confident, and I feel no pressure to perform,” Phong said.
“He isonly new to the SEA Games. He has been training with us for four years and hastaken part in international events since 2016. He has joined the men’s teamwith me and (Nguyen Thien) Phung for two seasons now,” Le Hieu Nghia, who wonthe men’s team silver in Singapore, said.
Phong,Nghia and Phung won a gold in the World Beach Taekwondo Championship in May.Earlier, Phong took part in various international tournaments in France,Kazakhstan and Malaysia.
Van,along with Nguyen Thi Le Kim and Lien Thi Tuyet Mai, will have to defend thewomen’s team title.
She isnot worried about her technique but the quality of referees.
In Singapore, Van and her teammates were placedsecond behind Thailand when a judge made mistakes with the score, leading tolower points for Vietnam.
Afterlodging complaints, the two teams performed again, and Vietnam were announcedwinners.
“My onlyworry is the referees. However, I will not let it affect my mind. Together withmy teammates, we will show the people our unique and best skills,” Van said.
Sharing Van’sopinion, Le Kim said, “To avoid such problems, we must perform without anymistake; it must be a perfect show.”
The biggestrivals for Vietnam at the SEA Games are Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.
“Myathletes have won gold medals in Asia and the world events. However, SEA Gamesare different. If they do not try their best, they will not succeed,” coach Huysaid.
“Indonesiahave been growing strongly. Malaysia are the hosts. However, I see Thailand asour arch-rivals. They have received strong support. Under the Republic of Korea’sexperts, they got good results in both poomsae and kyorugi in the recent worldtournament,” Huy said.
“Vietanm havethe highest ranking among the Southeast Asian countries, but I will still makeseveral changes to ensure we get the best results in the games.”
“Thailandwill present young athletes who are tough, excited and thirsty for victory.However, I have a strong drive too,” Van, who will compete in a worldtournament for students in Chinese Taipei before flying to Malaysia, said.
In Hanoi,the combat team are giving the final touches to its performance before the SEAGames.
Threeathletes who triumphed in Singapore are still in the team, and they are readyto fight.
Truong Thi Kim Tuyen will be carrying highexpectations.
InSingapore, Tuyen won her first SEA Games title after beating Irene ThereseBermejo of the Philippines in the final of the women’s 46kg category.
Shegrabbed a silver medal in the World Championship in the Republic of Korea inJune this year. In the semi-final match, she beat Thai Napaporn Charanawat, theOlympic bronze medallist, for a berth in the final.
Her result is the best for Vietnam ever in a world tournament.
“Winningdepends on various factors. We must follow our coaches’ tactics, do our bestand hope for a bit of luck. The world championship silver will drive me on myway to defending my SEA Games title,” she said.
Another medal hopeful in the team is veteran Ha ThiNguyen, who won a gold in the women’s 62kg in the last Games. Nguyen is aspecial athlete, as in the 2011 Games in Indonesia, she championed in the U73kgcategory.
Nguyen VanDuy will lead Vietnam’s campaign in the men’s category. He is the defendingchampion in the men’s 58kg category in the games.
Apart from the trio, Ho Thi Kim Ngan is a rising star. The 1.78m tallfighter will compete in the women’s 49kg class. She has the perfect kicks thatgot her a gold medal in the Asian championship for junior and cadets in 2015.She then grabbed the world title for juniors a year later. This June, Ngan, 16,pocketed a gold at an international tournament in the Republic of Korea.
“Based onwhat we have prepared, we are confident and ready for the games. All ourathletes are determined to grab the best results for Vietnam,” coach Tuan ofthe combat team said.
At least16 sets of medals are available at the Malaysian SEA Games.
Vietnam toppedthe Singapore Games with five golds and three silvers. The Philippines weresecond with three gold, three silver and two bronze medals, while Thailand wasthird with three gold, two silver and three bronze medals.-VNA
VNA
