Vietnam’s wrestlers were successful at the Asian Wrestling Championships and the Asian Young Wrestling Championships 2009. The chief of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training’s Wrestling Division talked about the national wrestling team.

Q: Could you tell us about Vietnam’s performance at the recent Wrestling Championships and the Asian Young Wrestling Championships 2009?

A: Vietnam’s female free-style wrestling maintained its high position at the recent Asian Wrestling Championships and the Asian Young Wrestling Championships 2009. Young wrestlers like Nguyen Thi Lua (48kg), Tran Dieu Linh (51kg) and Vu Thi Mai (44kg) followed in the footsteps of seniors like Le Thi Trang and Nghiem Thi Giang to win medals.

Notably, for most of them, this was their first international tournament. These young wrestlers have proved their potential. They were born in 1989-1990 so they will have many opportunities in the future.

Q: Do you think that Vietnamese female wrestlers can win medals at the Asian Games 2010 (ASIAD 2010)?

A: ASIAD is the dream of Asian wrestlers; in order to get medals there, we will need various factors like good draws and a little luck. Based on our wrestlers’ capabilities, to win medals, we will have to defeat big rivals from China, India and Japan. If our female wrestlers avoid injuries, they have some chance. We will try to help them prepare the best for the event.

Q: Vietnam won its first medals at the Asian Young Wrestling Championships 2009. Do you think that this success heralds future success for the national wresting team?

Ta Hong Tuan’s bronze medal in the 50kg category is a wonderful thing because nobody dared believe that Vietnam could win a medal in traditional wresting. This is a playground for central Asian countries or China and Mongolia only. However, Hong Tuan’s medal proves that Vietnam can compete in this area.

Some other Vietnamese wrestlers didn’t win a medal in this competition but they showed their potentials. Nguyen Van Trung, Ho Quang Hai and Doi Dang Quang defeated rivals from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, China and India.

Like our young female wrestlers, our male wrestlers lack experience in international events. When they are more experienced, their opportunities will be broader. Therefore, besides female freestyle wrestling, men’s classical wrestling is a new direction for Vietnam.

Q: What do you think about the opportunity for Vietnam in classical wrestling at ASIAD 2010?

A: I don’t want to affirm anything ahead of ASIAD but Vietnam has big potential in classical wrestling. The biggest advantage is our classical wrestling team is being trained by a qualified Uzbekistan expert and he is sharing his knowledge with the young Vietnamese wrestlers.

Q: What other international tournaments are Vietnam scheduled participate in?

A: The Vietnamese wrestling team will go to Ankara, Turkey on August 2 to take part in the World Young Wrestling Championships 2009. Because of a shortage of funds, we only plan to send female freestyle wrestlers to Turkey.

VietNamNet/TTVN