Hung wins final silver for Viet Nam in
400m

Le Duc Hung
added another medal to Viet Nam’s
tally when he took silver in the men’s 400m on the penultimate day of
competition in Guangzhou’s
Asian ParaGames on Saturday.

Hung took
second place in the T11 class race with a time of 57.87sec. The closely fought
contest ended in a photo finish with line honours going to Thailand’s
Jorchuy Kitsana.

Hung’s
teammate Dao Van Cuong, who is the current Asian record holder, finished third
in 58.38sec, which was almost three seconds slower than his time of 55.42sec in
the previous Games in Qatar.

Cuong set
the Asian record of 54.36sec in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics.

Earlier,
female duo Kim Van and Hoa Phuong grabbed bronze for Viet Nam in the women’s TT6-10
class table tennis. The pair defeated their Filipino rivals 3-2 in the bronze
medal play-off match. Hosts China
took the champion title after beating South Korea 3-0 in the final.

In six days
of competitions, the 57-member Viet Nam earned three gold, four silver and 10
bronze medals, leaving them eleventh overall in the rankings.

The
national team did not reach the target that they set themselves before
departing for Guanzhou. They had aimed to win at least five golds from the six
sports that they took part in.

The poor
result was partly attributed to cold weather in the city; this prevented
several Vietnamese athletes from competing and stopped others from performing
at their peak.

Karateist salvages Vietnamese pride

It’s an
unforgettable Thursday for karate artist Le Bich Phuong when she dealt a right
kick to beat Japanese Kobayashi Miki in the women’s under-55kg final; taking
prime position on the victory podium at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China
in November.

She won Viet Nam’s only
gold medal after a 13-day wait of the biggest Asian sporting event.

The
18-year-old salvaged some Vietnamese pride in the country’s poorest showing
since its debut at the Asian Games in 1982 in New Delhi, India.

The sole
medal victory caused a stir in the capital’s suburb of Lo Village in Gia Lam
District as villagers gathered at the teenager’s house as soon as they heard
the good news.

Phuong’s
mother, Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh, who is a cooking vendor, found herself exhausted
replying to villagers questions at the late afternoon market.

The next
day, Phuong’s father, Le Van Vang, hosted a giant party for relatives and
neighbours at the communal house, to celebrate his eldest daughter’s success in
Guangzhou.

With the
Asian Games win, Phuong has risen within a year from relative obscurity to the
heights of Vietnamese sport.

The petite,
but tough baby-faced 18-year-old cheerfully recounts her memories of the win,
“It was an unbelievable win. I wasn’t listed among the medal hopefuls
prior to the games, but I gave a spirited account, channelling the spirit of
karate.”

“My
final opponent was a world champion, but I felt free to set up a
counter-attack, dealing with right kicks. A right kick to Miki’s face gained me
a three point buffer and a 4-1 lead after the first round’s 1-1 draw. I finally
defended well in the third round to take the gold,” she said.

The
teenager said she had practised the martial art for five years to take the
victory.

Karate has
been a ‘golden hope’ of Viet
Nam since the Busan Asian Games in 2002.

Poor
childhood

Born in
1992, Phuong grew up in a poor farming family in the agriculture-intensive
village, just 12km east of the capital city’s centre.

Phuong’s
parents struggled to make ends meet with a small rice field, saving just enough
money for their eldest daughter’s schooling.

“I
eventually managed to hold a birthday party for her, after failing to keep my
promise on several occasions. That was when she was 10. We didn’t have even
enough money for her school fees, which pushed us into debt with our neighbours,”
Phuong’s mother, Nguyen Thi Oanh, recalled.

“Rice
farming is a hard job that only provides enough food to live on. However, our
lives gradually improved over the recent five years when I did business with
food vendors in the market. It’s not particularly profitable, but we managed to
save a little,” Oanh said.

Phuong
quickly showed herself to be an active and headstrong girl with her mischievous
play and domination in acrobatic feats and gymnastics at school.

She then
passed the final test for a training course at Ha Noi’s Elite Athletes Training
Centre at the age of 13.

The year of
2005 was a benchmark in her martial arts apprenticeship.

“My
parents worried that I wouldn’t be able to overcome the top athletics training
provided by the centre, but I didn’t want to change my mind as I chose karate
as my way of life,” Phuong said.

“Phuong
revealed flexibility about her movements, which act as a good base for the
medium - weight class in karate. She has been my student since 2008, but her
diligence in training continued to impress me. She has a good spirit, so she
never surrenders to any challenges both in training and competition.”

“I
decided to recruit Phuong for the national team during a one-year course before
sending her to the Asian Games in Guangzhou,”
said the national team’s coach, Le Cong.

He added he
saw the teenager as a “brave spirit” who had the potential to succeed
– and later selected her to train for the national team at the Indonesia Karate
Open held a month before Guangzhou Asian Games.

Her
hardwork translated into a gutsy first-minute blitz on the mat at the Guangzhou
final which catapulted into her to the lead against the reigning world champion
and ultimately secured her the gold.

“I
tipped her to win in a Goliath-David battle, luring the opponent with a
positive defence before launching crucial kicks to the face. I knew that Miki
was always powerful with her close range punches, so I told Phuong to move
around the mat and counter-attack. She followed the instructions and eventually
won,” the 58-year-old coach recalled.

However,
the teenager is not so good with her fists, with five hours of exercise leaving
her exhausted.

Phuong said
she is still the first and the only sportswoman of the farming village, which
has seen a face-lift following rapid urbanisation in recent years.

She said
she is still scared of injections and taking medicines when she’s ill.

She said
grilled beef eaten at street stalls is her favourite food.

“I
just only get the time to eat my favourite dish with friends over the weekend.
It’s the only time I stay with my parents and younger brother. I pretty much
train and live at the national training camp in Ha Noi, some 30km away, or an
hour by motorbike.”

The
teenager is now a well-known face in the village.

“It
makes me happy, but I always remind myself that I must work harder to reach a
new peak because the moment of victory is over.”

Phuong’s
70-year-old grandmother said she was thrilled watching her grand-daughter
fighting on TV.

“If I
knew it was so tough, I wouldn’t have agreed to let her go for karate training.
I had to look away whenever my granddaughter was under attack from her
opponent,” Phuong’s grandmother said.

“I
only have piece of mind when she has completed the match and she’s safe.”

Flying the
flag: Phuong holds up the Vietnamese flag after winning her first and Viet
Nam’s only gold medal in Guangzhou.

Love
conquers

The
teenager said she is encouraged by the love of her boy friend, who is a
national team member. But she feels shy to say his name, only admitting that he
had failed to win a medal in the men’s 75kg class in Guangzhou.

“He
fell in love with me at first sight when we met each other on the way home
after our training sessions,” Phuong shared.

But Phuong
said she would have to take a cooking course as she was terrible at home
economics at the moment, and it would be a good skill for a future family.

In terms of
her competitive future, the 18-year-old says she would like to be a karate
coach and plans to sign up for a training course at the Sports College. To
ensure a livelihood and continue her athletic career in the meantime, she
prefers to open a fashion shop.

“Now,
I have to focus my training on possible successes at the Southeast Asian Games
in Indonesia next year and the Incheon Asian Games in 2014,” she said.

Both Phuong
and her coach, Le Cong are promising candidates are hotly tipped to win the
awards as best sportsperson and coach of the year.

VFF announce TV deal

The Viet
Nam Football Federation (VFF) officially announced a 20-year deal for the
V-League television rights with cable TV provider Audio Vision Global (AVG)
last weekend worth VND6 billion (US$300,000) per year.

The
national football championship has been a money-spinner for the VFF since 2004,
when Viet Nam Television paid VND4 billion ($200,000) to broadcast the
V-League.

AVG, which
is licensed to operate a satellite and digital television service, plans to
launch a 70-channel TV package late next year.

The cable
TV provider, a member of the An Vien Group, was established in 2008 with a
charter capital of VND1,800 billion ($85 million).

It’s the
first ever TV copyright to be signed between a private television company and a
sports federation in Viet Nam.

AVG also
signed a 20-year TV rights contract with the Viet Nam Athletics Federation
(VAF) last week.

However, a
VAF representative refused to declare how much the deal was worth, but said AVG
would broadcast five to seven national tournaments each year.

Malaysia close in on AFF Cup

Malaysia sent
Viet Nam crashing out of the AFF Suzuki Cup with a goalless draw in their
semi-final second leg at Ha Noi’s My Dinh National Stadium on Saturday.

Malaysia
made the final of the biennial championship for the first time in 14 years
following the 2-0 advantage they earned in Kuala Lumpur four days ago.

After the
game, chief coach K. Rajagobal said that although the football might not have
been entertaining, they totally deserved the result.

“I
cannot express what I feel right now. The players showed the real ‘harimau’ –
the Malaysian tiger. We knew that it was going to be a tough match but we were
confident and we were disciplined in defence and followed the game plan,”
said Rajagobal.

“The
first 15 to 20 minutes were crucial and we knew if we conceded a goal it would
spell trouble for us. Our defence was good considering two of them are under 21
years old, it speaks volumes about their future.

“I
told them tonight, we must play simple and while it might look ugly, we just
have to make the clearance, no matter what. Our captain [Safiq Rahim] is a
naturally attacking player but tonight, he was told to play deeper and he
did.”

The onus
was always going to be on Viet Nam and in front of a sell-out crowd of 40,000,
the home team wasted no time in pushing forward from South Korean referee Kim
Sang-woo’s first whistle.

The return
of Nguyen Trong Hoang gave more bite on the left flank and he made Malaysian
leftback Mohd Asraruddin Putra Omar work overtime to ensure his crosses did not
make into the Malaysian box.

In the
ninth minute, Hoang shot through a sea of legs but there were no takers at the
far post.

Barely a
minute later, tragedy struck for Viet Nam with Phan Van Tai Em stretchered off
with a suspected broken arm following a clash with Malaysia’s Mohd Safee Sali.

His
replacement, Le Tan Tai, took over where he had left off and his double shot
saw Malaysian goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat rise to the occasion.

Malaysia’s
only chance in the first half was a curling shot from Norshahrul Idlan Talaha which
narrowly missed the upright.

Viet Nam
did not let up on the pressure in the second half but they just couldn’t seem
to find a way past Khairul as he stood firm to frustrate the home team.

In the 62nd
minute, Viet Nam should have taken the lead but lanky striker Nguyen Viet Thang
could only head Pham Thanh Luong’s cross tamely into the path of Khairul.

About ten
minutes later, Viet Nam’s frustration was complete when Luong took a dive in
the box leaving the referee with little choice but to show him his second
yellow card of the game.

“I’m
responsible for the loss, don’t criticise the players. If you need to criticise
anyone, criticise me,” said Viet Nam chief coach Henrique Calisto at the
post match press conference.

“We
did not lose here, we lost in Kuala Lumpur and I think that we were the better
team over both legs. Sometimes, we win and sometimes we lose – that’s life.
Show me a coach who never loses.

“The
loss of Luong was unfortunate although I agreed with the referee’s
decision.”

Malaysia will
meet with Indonesia who defeated the Philippines 1-0 in the second semi-final
match yesterday.

Ha Noi women win National Games gold

The Ha Noi
women’s football team claimed the gold medal at the National Games by edging Ha
Nam 1-0 at HCM City’s Thong Nhat Stadium on Friday.

The had
previously beat HCM City 4-1 and Quang Ninh 1-0 to remain unbeaten en route to
their title.

After
splitting points with HCM City in their last match, Quang Ninh finished on four
points to win the silver medal, while Ha Nam took the bronze on three.

Defending
champions HCM City finished with a single point to sit bottom of the four-team
round-robin event.

Viet Nam rank third at Asia aerobics
champs

Viet Nam
ranked third with two gold, three silver and six bronze medals at the second
Asian Aerobics Championships that concluded in HCM City on Friday.

Vietnamese
athletes secured two golds in women’s single and team events.

Meanwhile
Japan took the lead in the medal tally with four golds and two silvers. They
were followed by China with three golds.

The
championships drew 139 athletes from 11 nations and territories who completed
in men’s and women’s singles, mixed and team events in three age groups.

Source: VNS