Karate is always one of Vietnam's top sports and has brought to thecountry many gold medals in international competitions. However, Vietnammay face difficulties at the 27th SEA Games.
AsianGames champion Le Bich Phuong tore a ligament on her right knee duringtraining recently. People hoped that she will recover in time for theGames.
However, Vu Son Ha, head of the KarateDepartment, confirmed last week that the 21-year-old will not be able todefend her SEA Games title this December in Myanmar.
Her absence will strongly affect Vietnam's performance, as she was notonly to take part in the 55kg individual pool, but also the team class.
The second loss is Thach Thi Trang, who used tocompete in the women's 68kg category. Trang brought the first gold forthe team at the previous Games, but withdrew from the national team tofocus on her academic studies at Ho Chi Minh City Sports College.
The shortage of athletes is only part of the problem. In Myanmar, theorganisers plan to hold 17 events, four for kata (performance).According to Ha, in recent years, ASEAN countries have increased theirfocus on sports, so their teams' technique has strongly improved.
"Basically our athletes are young with qualified skills. They cancompete for medals with other strong squads in the region. However, weshould not be subjective and underestimate our rivals," said Ha.
"Malaysia and Indonesia are our traditional main opponents. This year,Myanmar will also be redoubtable, although they have not won any SEAGames gold. As the hosts, they will have a great advantage, especiallyin kata events, where judges give points partly based on theirsensibilities," he said.
In preparation for the goldgoals, the national team has been trained together since early thisyear. Its members have taken part in a number of internationaltournaments, including an open event in the Republic of Korea in Julywhere they pocketed three golds, one silver and one bronze.
The latest victory of the team went to Bui Nhu My, who won the men's84kg category at a pre-SEA Games competition in April.
Kata queen Nguyen Hoang Ngan will be back in Vietnam's jersey after a two-year break due to serious injuries.
Ngan has no worthy rival in Asia and has twice topped world rankings.
The Hanoian suffered knee and cartilage injuries at a world championship in Serbia in 2010.
She was sent to Japan, home of the sport, to receive treatment and improve her technique.
She marked her comeback with a title at an open tournament in Germanylast year. In July this year, Ngan collected another gold in theRepublic of Korea.
"Ngan has completely recoveredfrom her injuries and is on track with intensive training under closesupervision by Japanese doctors in preparation for the Games and theAsian Games next year," Ha said.
Recently, the localsport department provided Ngan with 10,000 USD in support. She willstay in Japan until the opening of the Games.
Atthis time last year, Vu Thi Nguyet Anh was fighting a torn ligament onher left knee. Months later, she flew to Singapore for an operation.Since then, the SEA Games defending champion in the women's under-50kgkumite (combat) pool is struggling to find her peak but is ready to winas she did in the past. Two years ago, she won a title despite her leginjury.
Anh is one of the most experienced athletesof the team, with more than 10 years of training and practice. The HaiPhong-born fighter has won five SEA Games golds and one gold and onesilver at the Asian Games.
At the 26th Games inIndonesia two years ago, Vietnam pocketed three gold, eight silver andthree bronze medals. This year, the team managers hope to place in thetop three.
The karate competition will be held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar's capital, from December 12-15.-VNA
AsianGames champion Le Bich Phuong tore a ligament on her right knee duringtraining recently. People hoped that she will recover in time for theGames.
However, Vu Son Ha, head of the KarateDepartment, confirmed last week that the 21-year-old will not be able todefend her SEA Games title this December in Myanmar.
Her absence will strongly affect Vietnam's performance, as she was notonly to take part in the 55kg individual pool, but also the team class.
The second loss is Thach Thi Trang, who used tocompete in the women's 68kg category. Trang brought the first gold forthe team at the previous Games, but withdrew from the national team tofocus on her academic studies at Ho Chi Minh City Sports College.
The shortage of athletes is only part of the problem. In Myanmar, theorganisers plan to hold 17 events, four for kata (performance).According to Ha, in recent years, ASEAN countries have increased theirfocus on sports, so their teams' technique has strongly improved.
"Basically our athletes are young with qualified skills. They cancompete for medals with other strong squads in the region. However, weshould not be subjective and underestimate our rivals," said Ha.
"Malaysia and Indonesia are our traditional main opponents. This year,Myanmar will also be redoubtable, although they have not won any SEAGames gold. As the hosts, they will have a great advantage, especiallyin kata events, where judges give points partly based on theirsensibilities," he said.
In preparation for the goldgoals, the national team has been trained together since early thisyear. Its members have taken part in a number of internationaltournaments, including an open event in the Republic of Korea in Julywhere they pocketed three golds, one silver and one bronze.
The latest victory of the team went to Bui Nhu My, who won the men's84kg category at a pre-SEA Games competition in April.
Kata queen Nguyen Hoang Ngan will be back in Vietnam's jersey after a two-year break due to serious injuries.
Ngan has no worthy rival in Asia and has twice topped world rankings.
The Hanoian suffered knee and cartilage injuries at a world championship in Serbia in 2010.
She was sent to Japan, home of the sport, to receive treatment and improve her technique.
She marked her comeback with a title at an open tournament in Germanylast year. In July this year, Ngan collected another gold in theRepublic of Korea.
"Ngan has completely recoveredfrom her injuries and is on track with intensive training under closesupervision by Japanese doctors in preparation for the Games and theAsian Games next year," Ha said.
Recently, the localsport department provided Ngan with 10,000 USD in support. She willstay in Japan until the opening of the Games.
Atthis time last year, Vu Thi Nguyet Anh was fighting a torn ligament onher left knee. Months later, she flew to Singapore for an operation.Since then, the SEA Games defending champion in the women's under-50kgkumite (combat) pool is struggling to find her peak but is ready to winas she did in the past. Two years ago, she won a title despite her leginjury.
Anh is one of the most experienced athletesof the team, with more than 10 years of training and practice. The HaiPhong-born fighter has won five SEA Games golds and one gold and onesilver at the Asian Games.
At the 26th Games inIndonesia two years ago, Vietnam pocketed three gold, eight silver andthree bronze medals. This year, the team managers hope to place in thetop three.
The karate competition will be held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar's capital, from December 12-15.-VNA
