Dương Thúy Vi is golden hope of the Vietnamese wushu in the Asian Games in China. VNA/VNS Photo

Wushu

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese wushu team is gearing up for the Asian Games (ASIAD) 19 in China this September.

The team earned six gold medals at the SEA Games 32 held in Cambodia. This will be a driving force for the team when they travel to China.

“We will try our best at the ASIAD to earn medals for the country,” head coach Nguyễn Văn Chương said.

However, the Vietnamese wushu team has not set a specific goal on which medals they will win as according to coach Chương, wushu is a martial art originating from China, so the host athletes are expected to have outstanding achievements. Besides China, teams from China’s Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and South Korea are also very strong in this martial art.

Chương added: “At the ASIAD 19, Việt Nam will send 13 athletes to compete. They all have chances to compete for medals. In wushu , it depends a lot on psychology, technique and tactics, so Vietnamese will make every effort to gain the best results.”

Currently, the Vietnamese wushu team is training in China. In August, the whole team will have intensive training sessions ahead of the the ASIAD.

The golden hope for is Dương Thúy Vi, who won gold at the ASIAD 17 in 2014.

Vũ Văn Trung, head of the wushu section of the National Sports Administration said: “The hope on Vi is completely grounded as she took the gold medal at the 32nd SEA Games in May in the jianshu and qiangshu event. This category will also be present in the upcoming ASIAD 19. In addition, we expect that Nông Văn Hữu, Nguyễn Thị Hiền and Nguyễn Lệ Chi can also win medals."

At ASIAD 17, Vi is only 24, now she is more than 30 years old, so she will face certain difficulties and advantages.

Coach Chương assessed: "Vi's physical strength and agility are not as good as before. But in return, she has experience and bravery. These are two important factors in wushu. We have high hopes for Vi.”

In addition to the hope of winning medals in some performance events, the Vietnamese wushu team also hopes on sanshou (combat) fighters who won four gold medals at the SEA Games 32.

At the ASIAD 19, sanshou athletes will compete in six categories.

Coach Phan Quốc Vinh said: “It is very difficult for us to compete with the martial artists of China. However, the Vietnamese sanshou team is preparing seriously, and thoughtfully in terms of expertise, bravery and spirit to be determined to do their best at the Asian Games." VNS