28 Jun 2022 | 05:58 | Football
Not participating in the SEA Games for 5 years (the Philippines cut the content in 2019), Yang Cuiwei still defended 2 gold medals in Malaysian martial arts and swordsmanship in 2017. This is a remarkable achievement because not only did it take 2 years without any competitions, but Thuy Vi also had to deal with a generation of teenagers in the region when all of her peers had retired.
“Now I can rest.” – Thuy Vi shared the 9.68 points after the School of Rights match to finish the 31st Southeast Asian Games at home with 2 golds and 1 bronze. “I’m very happy that I finished 3 days with no negative marks in 3 exams. In retrospect, I think I could have done better, but that’s okay, I’m very satisfied with my performance.”
There are two reasons for this impressive comeback. The first is the bravery of experienced athletes. Thuy Vi was the penultimate performer (7/8) in the first part of the fencing and the pressure was on when Indonesian athlete Mauri Nandhira scored a very high 9.67. However, she still won the gold medal with an excellent score of 9.70.
Martial arts is inherently a quiet discipline, especially for athletes who have been “hanging out” at Trinh Hoai Duc’s gym for 2 years. Stepping out of the stadium in the Cau Giay district full of spectators, the atmosphere is completely different. But that doesn’t affect Thuy Vi: “Experienced athletes have more control over themselves than young people. I have no problem, but young athletes get carried away with excitement and can’t control their emotions.”
When it comes to “mastering the rug is the most important”, the 1993-born athlete took the No. 1 spot with the composure of more than 20 years of martial arts practice. On the second day of the competition, she participated in a martial arts competition. Art also won. 9.70 points. But this time, Thuy Vi took the first exam and no one passed. She doesn’t consider Nandhira’s or anyone else’s exam pressure because Thuy Vi’s opponent is herself. Before or after, there is no difference.
The second is the love of martial arts. Going through seemingly insurmountable times of hardship and setbacks, while older generations like Cha Mei, Shui Ling or Mei Fang all retire at 20-22, Shui Wei at 29 is still an enemy in the race for the throne.
“I got all the medals in my hands in 2014 and I could take a break, but I always felt like I wasn’t learning enough in martial arts, and I’ve been practicing until now because I really want to continue. I don’t know. Is there any secret, because I’m still standing here, and that’s the biggest secret.” – Thuy Vi confirmed.
He started practicing martial arts at the age of 7, participated in the National Youth Championship at the age of 10, and began to participate in the national team at the age of 14 (2007). The golden girl of Vietnamese sports has been associated with martial arts for more than 20 years, and the repeated movements every day are a bit boring.
To prepare for a 1:30 performance in the competition, Duong Thuy Vi had to practice standing, jumping, acrobatics or landing in each training session. Trevi performed 2 turns in the air with her own spin and combined her legs and arms to correct her posture to perform in the most perfect way. Every training session, the female athlete has to rotate dozens or hundreds of times. For more than 20 years, she has done this time and time again in pursuit of her career.
Injuries are inevitable because peak sports are activities beyond the limits of the average person. Thuy Vi’s knee still sometimes loses strength, becomes inflamed, leaks fluid, and tears the inner meniscus. Pain in knees, limbs or back all the time. After multiple treatments, the doctor said her injuries were unavoidable and she just wanted to retire.
Pham Quoc Khanh has had to undergo surgery in the past due to a ruptured ligament in his knee. He, who once tore his abdominal muscles, still held back the pain when he competed for the gold medal in the SEA Games. It was at this 31st Southeast Asian Games that young athlete Nguyen Van Phuong fell and left his test after a rotation. Phuong was injured before the game, but still suppressed the pain and participated in the game. It was determined that the knee ligament was ruptured, and it took half a year to a year to fully recover.
Trevi was lucky to not have to undergo surgery like her teammates, but as a woman she faced another problem. Thuy Vi spent her youth at the gym and had little time to take care of herself. However, the frequent need to hold swords and spears made her hands less healthy than normal females.
Wei’s hands are very dry, and her skin is peeling and not healing. In the eyes of ordinary people, it is not beautiful. But for female athletes like Duong Thuy Vi, the image is a testament to the difficulties to go through, showing effort on the training ground. Those hands were beautiful and proud as she brought achievements to the country.
Duong Thuy Vi, who had waited five years for the SEA Games, ended after three days of competition with a total of less than five minutes of performance, but she was not frustrated. She successfully passed the exam without any deductions, surpassing herself.
Returning to the Southeast Asian Games after a lapse of 5 years has won the attention and support of the audience, but Duong Thuy Vi did not promise to continue the competition. She said: “I don’t promise everyone how long I’ll be practicing. I’m just planning to practice this year and next year. Maybe people will still see Thuy Vi on the game mat and you can see me on the field. Another position, because no one is there. Anything can be predicted.”
The older you get, the greater the competitive pressure. Trevi has passed the stage of pursuing his goals, and the task of defending the throne is even more difficult. Because when stepping on the carpet, all opponents are the same and have to start all over again. As a result, her hurdles to move on—compared to other young athletes—are also more daunting.
In July this year, Duong Thuy Vi and 2 long-time teammates – Pham Quoc Khanh and Hoang Thi Phuong Giang will participate in the World Games in the United States. Her goal at the time was to compete in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, but the competition has been postponed and it is unclear when it will take place.
Less than a year from now, the 32nd Southeast Asian Games will be held in Cambodia, but fans may never see Duong Thuy Vi on the carpet again. Cambodia announced that the content of the competition includes martial arts, but they only have Sanshou (playing, hitting) athletes and no routine (performance) athletes. It is difficult to open the content to other countries to “eat”. “Gold.
This happened at the 30th Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines, when there were men’s boxing schools (Minh Huyen won a gold medal), women’s Tai Chi (Minh Huyen won a bronze medal), etc., but all three events were involved. (Swordsmanship, Spearmanship, Feminist School) have all been removed.
Everything will have to wait until the 32nd Southeast Asian Games meeting in July. The specific content will be announced at that time, and we will know whether the content of martial arts will be performed (not to mention whether the athletes themselves participate). Duong Thuy Vi may have competed in the last Southeast Asian Games of her career.
But as long as she persists, no matter what the competition is, she will work hard to win glory for the country from her own hands.
