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On June 2, Ha Thi Linh brought another ticket to attend the Paris Olympic Games for the Vietnamese sports delegation. Playing in Boxing, weight of 60kg female, Ha Thi Linh won convincingly against opponent Vilma Viitanen (Finland) equal to the point after 3 rounds.
The journey to conquer the Paris Olympic Games of Ha Thi Linh is not easy. In 2022, she returned after the second motherhood. At this time, Ha Thi Linh played a weight of 66kg and won the gold medal in the national sports festival. This is also the basis for her to conquer the international playground.
Coming to SEA Games 32 in Cambodia, Ha Thi Linh pressed down 2 weight classes to compete. The fact that this boxer competes in the weight of 60kg is in the long distance of the Vietnamese Women's Boxing Team coach. Because, this is also a weight of the Olympic competition program.
Coach Nguyen Nhu Cuong, who worked with Ha Thi Linh in the Hanoi Women's Boxing team as well as the national team, wanted her to get acquainted with the new body to look forward to the Olympics. 66kg class is also in the Olympic program, but if Ha Thi Linh presses down to 60kg, the opportunity for her will be more.
Indeed, the competition in the weight of 60kg has helped Ha Thi Linh achieve much success. She won the SEA Games gold medal, and was not bad at ASIAD 19. Back to the domestic arena, Ha Thi Linh played in the weight of 63kg at the end of 2023 to ensure health. However, the arduous journey to conquer the Olympic Games then actually started.
Many boxers have affirmed that in international martial arts tournaments, the sports environment is much more fierce than professional sports. One of the most basic differences is the issue of weight pressing. High -performance sports athletes must maintain themselves at a low weight level for a long time.
Ha Thi Linh is no exception. In normal state, she can hold weight at 63-66kg. But to the Olympic playground, Ha Thi Linh had to squeeze less than 60kg, and she had maintained it for the past 6 months. This is the extraordinary effort of a player.
The beginning is not smooth
The first round of the Paris Olympic Games is an unhappy memory with Ha Thi Linh. She lost against the Portuguese boxer in the opening match. Returning to Vietnam, this boxer was asked to continue to maintain a weight of less than 60kg to play in the country, while keeping the body towards the international playground.
During the training trip in Kazakhstan, as well as Thailand before the second qualifying round, Ha Thi Linh still maintained the regime of suffering. But it was not until the official match, especially before the last match against Vilma Viitanen, Ha Thi Linh “surpassed the real” threshold.
The fact that Ha Thi Linh played in a weight of 60kg is a disadvantage. This weight only took 3 boxers to the Olympic Games in the 2nd qualifying round. In addition, Ha Thi Linh's competition program also started later than other content. That made her play 5 matches in 7 days, an unbelievable frequency for the boxers!
If more fortunate, Ha Thi Linh can win tickets in the fourth match. However, opponent Agnes Alexiusson (Sweden) proved completely superior. The experience of a boxer who attended the Tokyo Olympic Games helped Agnes Alexiusson play completely on the representative of Vietnam.
After the match against Agnes Alexiusson, the signs of fatigue began to appear with Ha Thi Linh. She showed signs of muscle pain, body aches. That pain even made her rest. But there is another reason why Ha Thi Linh has trouble sleeping: the stomach is hungry.
Ha Thi Linh and the coaching staff have no time to disappoint after the defeat of Agnes Alexiusson. They only have less than 1 day to continue preparing for the next match. Part of the preparation, is that Ha Thi Linh must ensure the standard weight in the inspection on the morning of June 2.
For that reason, Ha Thi Linh did not have dinner after the match against Agnes Alexiusson. The perseverance, strictness to herself to the point of austere helped her make a miracle. The ticket of Ha Thi Linh has proven that Boxing Vietnam is fully capable of stepping into the international playground, with top rivals.
The mark of the teachers
The match between Ha Thi Linh and Vilma Viitanen only lasted for 12 minutes: 3 rounds, each 3 minutes, take 1 minute break after the first and second half, and 1 minute waiting for the organizers to announce the results. But in that short time, there were countless variables that took place without anyone foreseen.
At the beginning of the third half, there were times when Ha Thi Linh would fall into a backward scene like the first qualifying. She kept the score after 2 rounds, and was suddenly counted by the referee after receiving a heavy blow from the opponent. But that was also the time when Ha Thi Linh was more calm than ever, instead of breaking down.
“In a balanced battle, many boxers will lose his temper after being counted. In the amateur boxing, the counting does not cause the boxer to be deducted.
Fortunately for Boxing Vietnam, the people side by side with Ha Thi Linh are the top coaches. It was Mr. Nguyen Nhu Cuong, the coach of the Vietnam Women's Boxing team, Head of Hanoi Women's Boxing Department, who has been with Ha Thi Linh for more than 15 years. There are also Thai experts Tawan Mungphingklang.
Few people know, Mr. Tawan Mungphingklang held the position of the head coach of the Thai boxing team before returning to Vietnam to work. However, he is not an expert of the Vietnamese boxing team. Instead, he took the position of an expert of the Hanoi Women's Boxing team, and only joined the team as a support person in international tournaments.
During the Thailand training trips of Boxing Vietnam, Tawan's personal relationship always helps the player to have the best practice conditions. The achievements of athletes, therefore, also improves impression over time. Before Ha Thi Linh, Vo Thi Kim Anh was the most specific evidence.
In early 2023, Kim Anh gathered at the Vietnam Women's Boxing team of the Center for Training and Competition for Sports 2 (Ho Chi Minh City). At this time, she did not have the desired performance. Kim Anh was eliminated early in the world championship, and was not on the list of athletes attending ASIAD 19.
By the beginning of 2024, Kim Anh continued to recruit, but practiced in Hanoi. The collection of the coaches here, including Tawan Mungphingklang, helped Kim Anh completely change. From a athletes without good physical strength, she played persistently and directly won tickets to the Olympic Games.
Back to the final match of Ha Thi Linh. The instructions of the coaching staff for her, especially after this martial artist was counted at the beginning of the third half, helped the representative of Vietnam maintain the posture. The counting once is not a big problem for Ha Thi Linh. She continued to attack effectively, won in the third half and won the final.
Referring to coach Nguyen Nhu Cuong or Tawan Mungphingklang next to Ha Thi Linh, absolutely not the story “telling”. This is a testament to that, success in an Olympic ticket comes from the combination of many factors. Each ticket is like installed from countless pieces, and indispensable even one piece.