Q: From being one of the first players of sepak takraw in Viet Nam 12 years ago, you are now the veteran of the national women’s team. Does this bring advantages when you compete?

A I gained considerable experience from the major events. As a server, you need dexterity and steady competition at a high level. From the position, I can quickly alter the pace of a game.

Since I had a baby my fitness is not as good as it was but the position doesn’t require as much physical strength. As my selection shows, young players haven’t met selection requirements or I would have been replaced.

Since giving birth, my play has been more consistent and confident, although my fitness hasn’t fully recovered. I wish ‘when the bamboo is old, the bamboo sprout appears’.

A: Fans often see you shouting, gesticulating and lifting young players’ spirits when you play. With you, the team seems to have a renewed vitality. Are you different away from the game?

A: I am not different. I am very ebullient and jovial and always seek perfection so young players will want to follow and play better.

I always want to take care of my entire family. Some people may think that is strenuous but for me it’s happiness.

Despite my characteristics, I don’t think a lot. After hours of training, I run to meet my husband and baby. All my thoughts are towards my family. I have a good husband and an obedient child, who are a huge encouragement for me to improve my game.

Q: It is said number 3 is unlucky but you have worn the No 3 shirt since beginning your career in 1997. What do you think?

A: My primary school teacher taught me a proverb, Mot cay lam chang nen non, ba cay chum lai nen hon nui cao (A man can not fulfil a huge task but a team can do it). I always remember it and thought with teamwork, good decisions and training hard for a chosen path, success would come. And I like number 3.

I also like 11. It looks like two people who often go with each other in all ways and together overcome difficulties.

Q: The No 3 shirt brought you good fortune when you won at regional and world tournaments?

A: My best achievements are winning at the world champs in 2000 and this year, taking two golds at the Asian Games in 2006 in Qatar and another at the Southeast Asian Games in 2003 and receiving a Labour Order, Second Class. I was named the nation’s best athlete in 2006.

Q: How did you feel after winning at the latest world champs?

A: I was glad. My joy was doubled because when I returned to the team I quickly caught the team’s pulse and the young players had made considerable progress. The win showed the team’s union. It boosted our spirits in preparation for December’s SEA Games in Laos.

Q: For success, you’ve had to sacrifice many things. When you got married you had three days off before you flew to Thailand to train. No rest, no honeymoon. Six months after giving birth, you returned to the team. Did your husband support your decision?

A: I am really lucky my husband understands and sympathises with me. He encourages me to play and looks after the baby. He is also from Thanh Hoa Province. We met by chance at a birthday party and married three years later. He often watches me play and encourages me fervently.

Q: You were honoured on Viet Nam Television’s Strange Stories of Viet Nam for an earlier achievement of lifting a rattan ball on your knee. But becoming a national record holder presented you with some big challenges. What were they?

A: When I was on the programme in 2005, I was invited to lift the ball. I lifted it 5,485 times within 62 minutes but was later hospitalised with a kidney problem. I went from a leader to a person unable to compete. I didn’t sleep for two months and was as thin as a stick with worry.

At the time, many advised me to retire but I returned to training and honed my skills. After a six-month battle, I regained selection and when the team won twice at the Asian Games in 2006 it gave me unforgettable memories.

Q: Did securing second in the Vietnamese Women’s 21th Century Beauty Contest in 2007 help you on or off the court?

A: The contest made me more confident in life and a better communicator. When I am confident, I learn I have capacities I didn’t realise I had. That contest didn’t help my sporting activities. To the contrary, sport helped me gain recognition. Sport helped me be willing to persevere and test a new field.

People think women playing sport are manly, not gentle. I took part in that event to prove sport women are not like that. They are good in any spheres.

Q: What are your plans?

A: I haven’t got any great plans but I intend to coach young people in sepak takraw so our country can shine at future major tournaments.

VietNamNet/Vietnam News