Karateist salvages Vietnamese pride

Face off: Le Bich Phuong (right) lands a kick to the face of an opponent in the women's under-55kg weight category at the Asian Games inGuangzhou, China. — VNA/VNS Photos QuocKhanh

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 food 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.

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. — VNS