High-flying Vietnamese kickboxers ready and set for SEA Games
Later today, the Vietnamese kickboxers representing their country will put their training to the test against the best of the region, when the opening bell of the kickboxing event of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games sounds in Bắc Ninh Province.
Việt Nam has selected 12 athletes for the Games, with five female athletes competing in the 48kg, 52kg, 56kg, 60kg, 65kg weight categories and seven male athletes competing in 51kg, 54kg, 57kg, 60kg, 63.5kg, 67kg and 71kg weight categories.
Among them, Nguyễn Thị Hằng Nga, Huỳnh Văn Tuấn, Nguyễn Xuân Phương and Nguyễn Quang Huy all fought their way to gold at the 30th SEA Games in the Philippines in 2019. This year, Lê Thị Nhi (women's 56kg) and Bùi Hải Linh (women's 52kg) are both promising contenders.
The head coach of the national kickboxing team, Trần Thanh Tuyến, said that Việt Nam has set a target of at least four gold medals this year. However, they will have to better the strong opponents from Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia who stand
in their way.
“Vietnamese athletes’ training for the SEA Games were also affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but as they trained and isolated at the same time, there was little
effect on their technique or training progress,” Tuyến said.
“The training board deployed tactics and analysed the opponents' technique to give them the best chance of competing,”
Tuyến added.
Linh, who will compete in the Games for the first time, said she is comfortable fighting on home turf after strictly following the regulations as well as the training programme of the training board.
“I will try my best to achieve the best result and get a gold medal for the team. At this Games, I want to prove myself and learn from the competition experience of athletes from other countries,” Linh said.
Determined to protect the gold medal won in the 30th SEA Games, Tuấn said: “I am very honoured and proud to be one of the athletes who will be competing at the upcoming Games. I will make every effort to defend my gold medal earned at the previous Games”.
The final kickboxing round will take place on May 13, when the winner of the eight countries, Việt Nam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, will be decided.
The men's beach handball will also start today in the Tuần Châu International Tourist Area of Hạ Long City, Quảng Ninh Province.
The event will see Việt Nam, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines face off for the title in a round-robin competition to find the winner.