Vietnamese taekwondo martial artists have finalised their preparations for the coming London Olympics next August.
The country's martial artists earned two tickets to the world's biggest sports festival at qualifiers last month.
"The Olympic Games are an important event so we need to have specificplans to be successful," said Vu Xuan Thanh, head of the taekwondodepartment of the National Sports Administration.
The two athletes, Chu Hoang Dieu Linh and Le Huynh Chau, will take part in training courses and competitions abroad.
"In the first stage, they will compete at an open event in Germanyin March. Three months later they will have a 15-day training session inthe Republic of Korea or China in preparation for the Asianchampionships," Thanh said.
"The German tournament is oneof the official events of the World Taekwondo Federation which drawssome of the strongest rivals. Through it our fighters will gain moreexperience. More than that, if they achieve high results there,Vietnamese candidates will get an advantage in case of draws at theOlympics."
In the decisive second stage, another trainingcourse for two months in Europe will be provided. The destination willbe chosen after the European zone qualifying round in the middle ofnext month.
Apart from powerful rivals at the Olympics,Vietnamese fighters will also meet another challenge as organisers havedecided to use Daedo electronic protection gear in stead of the morefamiliar Lajust brand.
"It will be a big challenge for us.Not only for Vietnam but also for any Asian fighters using Lajustitems. There are some differences between the two brands, andcompetitors must familiarise themselves with the new equipment, whichsometimes requires them to even change their fighting style," saidThanh. /.
The country's martial artists earned two tickets to the world's biggest sports festival at qualifiers last month.
"The Olympic Games are an important event so we need to have specificplans to be successful," said Vu Xuan Thanh, head of the taekwondodepartment of the National Sports Administration.
The two athletes, Chu Hoang Dieu Linh and Le Huynh Chau, will take part in training courses and competitions abroad.
"In the first stage, they will compete at an open event in Germanyin March. Three months later they will have a 15-day training session inthe Republic of Korea or China in preparation for the Asianchampionships," Thanh said.
"The German tournament is oneof the official events of the World Taekwondo Federation which drawssome of the strongest rivals. Through it our fighters will gain moreexperience. More than that, if they achieve high results there,Vietnamese candidates will get an advantage in case of draws at theOlympics."
In the decisive second stage, another trainingcourse for two months in Europe will be provided. The destination willbe chosen after the European zone qualifying round in the middle ofnext month.
Apart from powerful rivals at the Olympics,Vietnamese fighters will also meet another challenge as organisers havedecided to use Daedo electronic protection gear in stead of the morefamiliar Lajust brand.
"It will be a big challenge for us.Not only for Vietnam but also for any Asian fighters using Lajustitems. There are some differences between the two brands, andcompetitors must familiarise themselves with the new equipment, whichsometimes requires them to even change their fighting style," saidThanh. /.
