Last week was pretty solid for Vietnamese athletes.
In the same week that swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien set a new record in the women’s 400-meter individual medley at the Asian Swimming Championships in Tokyo, young taekwondo athlete Ho Thi Kim Ngan reached the top of the podium at the World Taekwondo Junior Championship, reports VietnamNet.
The 15-year-old athlete, who hails from An Giang province, won the gold medal in the under-44kg category after defeating Croatian competitor Maria Calderon. Ngan also faced challengers from Argentina, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines on her road to victory.
Following her win, Ngan hugged her coach, Vu Anh Tuan, through tears.
“It is the first time Ngan has taken part in the world junior championship, so we just asked her try to be one of the top three in her pool,” Tuan told VietnamNet. “However, she did a perfect job. The gold is a wonderful gift for a girl who showed great determination and competitiveness.”
Ngan began her taekwondo training just three years ago but quickly excelled at the sport. The World Taekwondo Junior Championship, held in Burnaby, Canada last week, drew over 1,000 competitors from nearly 100 different countries. Eight other Vietnamese athletes competed in the event alongside Ngan.
[Photo via Vo Thuat]
