Mother of two wins Boxing championship at SEA Games 32

“The opponent from the Philippines is also very strong, with a height equivalent to 1m70 like me, so it was not easy to overcome this opponent. Before that, I was under a lot of psychological pressure because my teammate - world runner-up Nguyen Thi Tam was supposed to win the gold medal for the team. But unfortunately, Tam was injured, so the coach and teammates put their trust in me. Before entering the decisive final match, coach Cuong (coach Nguyen Nhu Cuong - PV) told me that, in addition to having to compete well to complete the team's target, worthy of the investment I was given, I should try my best to win the gold medal to get money to buy milk for my children. The coach's encouragement was very sincere and true to my difficult situation, when my husband had to take care of 2 children while I trained and competed far from home", the boxer from Lao Cai shared.

Ha Thi Linh (red armor) is brave on the fighting ring.

At the age of 12, Ha Thi Linh caught the eye of coach Nguyen Nhu Cuong when he recruited athletes for Hanoi Boxing. Her tall, strong physique and good reflexes helped Linh be selected for the Hanoi Boxing team. Linh's family was very poor at that time, both parents were farmers, working hard to raise 3 children enough to eat and have enough to eat, but could not provide them with a full education.

“At that time, my parents heard Coach Cuong say that if I joined the team, the State would take care of my food expenses and even give me a good education. My parents were very happy to hear that because they thought I would escape the hardship at home. I was recruited to the national team to train at the Hanoi center. At first, I missed home very much, and I didn't have a phone to call home like now. Training for injuries was also very painful, but because my family's situation was so difficult, I had to try. Sometimes my mother also came to Hanoi to visit me by train. Every time, both of us cried. My mother felt sorry for me because I was working hard, and I felt sorry for my mother because I still couldn't do anything for her," the SEA Games 32 boxing champion emotionally recalled the past.

She won the gold medal convincingly.

Thanks to her talent and efforts, after 2 years of training, Ha Thi Linh was promoted to the national youth team and then promoted to the national team. She won the SEA Games gold medal in her first competition at the largest arena in the region in 2013, in the 64kg women's Boxing category.

Fate brought her to fall in love with a guy from the same hometown, whose family situation was also difficult when both her father and mother were gone. After the wedding, Linh continued to pack her backpack and go to Hanoi to practice, while her husband stayed in his hometown of Lao Cai. “Although we were far apart, my husband and I always encouraged each other to try hard and I still won many achievements in domestic tournaments during this period. In 2018, I gave birth to my first baby, so I asked the teachers to stay at home to fulfill my duty as a mother. However, the economic situation was very difficult, so when my daughter was only a few months old, I practiced again and asked the teachers to let me compete at the National Sports Festival in 2018. At that time, I asked the teachers to let both mother and daughter come down, because I had a small child, so I had to rent a house outside to live. After practicing, I ran home to breastfeed my baby. At only 6 months old, it seemed that my baby understood my hardships, so she was very obedient and rarely fussed. I also felt secure in practicing and won the gold medal at the Festival that year.”

Joy of victory

In 2020, Ha Linh gave birth to her second daughter and continued to miss training with the national team. In 2022, she returned to compete at the National Sports Festival and won an impressive gold medal. “At that time, my teacher told me to discuss with my family, if possible, I should train hard to apply to participate in the 2023 SEA Games. My whole family agreed, so we decided that my husband would stay home to look after the two children, while I went to Hanoi to continue training. I missed my two children very much, especially when I called them, they often babbled: Mom is coming home soon? When will you come back to buy milk for me? So when I won this gold medal, I was very happy, I wanted to thank my teacher and the leaders. Thanks to the reward from this gold medal, I will be able to take care of my two children and have more money to buy milk for them,” shared the mother of two who just won a gold medal in the heavy sport of Boxing.

THU SAM (from Cambodia)

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