 |
| Thua Thien Hue Taekwondo is being built from the young generation |
"Gold" regained
At the close of the 2024 National Youth Taekwondo Championship in My Tho City, Tien Giang Province, the Thua Thien Hue Sports Delegation won 1 gold, 1 silver, and 5 bronzes. The sole gold of Taekwondo Thua Thien Hue in this prestigious tournament belonged to athlete Ho Thi Thanh Thao in the 55kg weight category of the U17. Simultaneously, athlete Nguyen Thi Huynh Suong claimed a silver in the 59kg category of the U17 group.
The National Youth Taekwondo Championship is an annual tournament with the zealous participation of coaches and athletes nationwide. This year, the tournament gathered nearly 3,000 athletes. Outstanding athletes in this year's tournament will be selected for the national youth team, joining in events such as the World Youth Championship (October 2024 in Korea).
 |
| Athlete Ho Thi Thanh Thao (podium No.1) regained the "gold" for Thua Thien Hue Taekwondo. |
Athletes were divided into 4 age groups for males and females: the under-12 age group old; 12-14 age group, 15-17 age group, and 18-20 age group. The Thua Thien Hue delegation participated in 7 female events, 6 male events, 2 mixed team events, and 3 kata events. The gold by athlete Ho Thi Thanh Thao is of great significance. According to Mr. Nguyen Van Phap, the provincial Taekwondo coach, it has been a long time since Thua Thien Hue Taekwondo won 1 gold in a prestigious domestic arena such as the National Youth Taekwondo Championship. This is the driving force for the Taekwondo division to strive for a breakthrough in the coming time.
From Thao's story
The gold-winning girl is Ho Thi Thanh Thao from Phu An Commune, Phu Vang District. Born into a poor family, Thao's parents often worked far away from home. The provincial Taekwondo scouts detected Thao's qualities and talent in 2020. However, initially, they did not get her family's consent.
It was not until 2 years later, in 2022, when Thao's family had moved to Ha Tinh, after many efforts with persuasion and promise, that the Taekwondo coaches of Thua Thien Hue Province got the nod from her parents, and at this time Thao officially did training. Also just 1 year later, Taekwondo reaped the "good fruit" from Ho Thi Thanh Thao. At the 2023 National Youth Taekwondo Championship, Ho Thi Thanh Thao clinched a silver. This year, competing in the 15-17 age group, she "reaped" a gold for which Taekwondo Thua Thien Hue had longed for years.
Remarking on the "gold" girl Ho Thi Thanh Thao, coach Nguyen Van Phap said that her advantages are her good physique and right foot technique, her hard training with a self-motivated and difficulty-overcoming attitude. However, her left foot technique needs to be trained and improved more. That is also the assessment for athlete Nguyen Thi Huynh Suong, who has just won a silver. Notably, these two female athletes only received Taekwondo training in a short time. Ho Thi Thanh Thao has trained only for 2 years, and Nguyen Thi Huynh Suong for 3 years. Ahead of them lies a long time.
Towards the young generation
Taekwondo is a strong sport of the province and has been chosen as a key sport in group 1 to focus on investment in the 2021-2025 period. The province has up to 30 Taekwondo clubs that have developed widely, drawing thousands of practitioners to register for regular training.
Despite positive impressions created, the number of high-quality clubs in our province remains small. In terms of high-performance sports, Thua Thien Hue Taekwondo has recently encountered many difficulties in force because it only has 16 slots left, and most of the athletes are old and not at their peak. The investments from all levels are, therefore, sorely needed.
The achievements throughout tournaments such as the 2024 National Youth Taekwondo Championship show that, after many years of waiting, Thua Thien Hue's Korean martial art has produced a generation of promising athletes. Coupled with the duo Ho Thi Thanh Thao - Nguyen Thi Huynh Suong, there are many other outstanding faces such as Tran Thi Ni (U20), Dang Le Vinh Tien (U14), Le Hong Hau (U20 kata) and Vo Thien Kim (U20 kata). According to Mr. Nguyen Van Phap, if well invested, this force will develop strongly and form the backbone for Thua Thien Hue Taekwondo to gain breakthrough achievements in the short run.