With their youth, passion and determination to conquer glory, Nguyen Giang Son, Ro O Phu and Phan Thi Dung have gradually reached success in traditional martial arts, contributing many valuable gold medals at national and international championships for Da Nang’s sports sector.

Ro O Phu (right) and Phan Thi Dung (middle) have made many contributions to Da Nang's traditional martial arts. Photo: NVCC

Nguyen Giang Son, who was born in 2002 from Quang Nam Province, left an impression with his great efforts in training and confidence in competition.

Son’s career has reached a new milestone when he has won the gold medal in the men's 65kg weight class at the 2024 World Traditional Martial Arts Championship recently held in Ho Chi Minh City.

The tournament saw the participation of 249 athletes and coaches from 8 domestic and 12 foreign delegations. To win the valuable gold medal, Son excellently surpassed many strong opponents in the same weight class.

“The gold medal is an extra motivation for me to continue to strive, aiming for further successes in my career” Son shared.

As for Son, coming to traditional martial arts and pursuing a professional path have been his dream since childhood. With his great passion for sports, Son practiced many kinds of sports to have a good physical foundation. In 2018, he passed the exam and was admitted to the Da Nang Sports and Gymnastics Athletes Training Centre.

After the initial days of confusion, Son tried to integrate into the learning and living environment of the city's youth traditional martial arts team.

“The path to becoming a professional athlete is not easy when there is a high level of elimination. Therefore, when entering the team, I clearly determined that I must always try my best and seriously practice to prove my ability and stay steadfast with my passion” Son said.

In 2019, Son was given the opportunity to compete in large-scale tournaments to gain professional experience. One year later, he grabbed the gold medal at the National Youth Traditional Martial Arts Championship.

Then, he took bronze and silver medals at the National Youth Traditional Martial Arts Championships in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Along with Giang Son, the talent of Ro O Phu, 26, hailing from Gia Lai Province, and Phan Thi Dung, 22, hailing from Quang Nam Province, was discovered under the guidance and training of the coaches of the city’s traditional martial arts team.

Phu and Dung have been in the team for 10 and 7 years respectively. Their common point is that they did not know about traditional martial arts before entering the Da Nang Sports and Gymnastics Athletes Training Centre. However, when trained and oriented towards a professional career, both have a great passion for this kind of sports.

Recalling the time when she first joined the city’s youth traditional martial arts team, Dung confided “I was advised by my relatives and friends to think carefully before entering the youth traditional martial arts team because martial arts is very hard, especially for women. However, I firmly pursued my dream and believed that as long as I had determination and a strong passion, I would have enough strength to overcome difficult exercises. In the first days of living, studying and practicing at the Da Nang Sports and Gymnastics Athletes Training Centre, I encountered many difficulties. However, thanks to the encouragement and support from coaches and teammates, I gradually considered the centre as my second family and I became more confident”.

With their efforts and progressive spirit in studying and practicing, Dung and Phu gradually matured and participated in major tournaments at both home and abroad.

Dung has brightened her portfolio with a bronze medal at the 2018 National Youth Traditional Martial Arts Championship, a gold medal at the 2019 National Youth Traditional Martial Arts Championship, a bronze medal at the 2020 National Traditional Martial Arts Championship, a bronze medal at the 2022 National Sports Festival, a silver medal at the 2023 National Traditional Martial Arts Championship, and a gold medal at the 2024 World Traditional Martial Arts Championship.

Meanwhile, in addition to the gold medal at the 2024 World Traditional Martial Arts Championship in the men’s 75kg category, Phu won 2 gold medals at the Traditional Martial Arts Cup and National Championship in 2023.

According to Coach Huynh Duc Bay of the Da Nang traditional martial arts team, Nguyen Giang Son, Ro O Phu and Phan Thi Dung are 3 of the team's skilled athletes. The coaching staff always creates favourable conditions for them to practice and compete regularly to explore their limits, aiming to conquer valuable medals.

Currently, members of the team are training in Gia Lai in preparation for the 2024 National Traditional Martial Arts Championship slated to take place from September 15 - 25. Hopefully, good results at the forthcoming championship will give athletes more confidence.

Reporting by PHI NONG - Translating by M.DUNG