Beauty queen of martial arts Duong Thuy Vi 'does not promise' to participate in SEA Games 34

With her journey in her 9th SEA Games coming to an end, Duong Thuy Vi's future is a big question mark. Responding to questions about whether she will continue competing, the Vietnamese yushu beauty queen has shared her honest thoughts.

The low notes of Duong Thuy Vi

Duong Thuy Vi has officially concluded her journey at the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand. For the first time in many years after dominating the taolu (performance) event, the athlete born in 1993 left the competition without winning any medals. The question fans are most interested in now is whether this "beauty queen of martial arts" will continue to compete or retire.

When asked by reporters whether she would participate in the 34th SEA Games, Thúy Vi shared: "I never want to break a promise to anyone. I didn't make any promises to the coaching staff or to anyone else. As long as I'm still training, I will try my best to improve that year." For now, her goal remains to focus all her efforts on preparing for the important upcoming ASIAD in 2026.

Swordsmanship is Thúy Vi's forte. However, this year, swordsmanship is included in the combined category of martial arts and spear techniques. The total score from the three events will be used to determine the medals.

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

Duong Thuy Vi boasts an impressive collection of achievements, especially 7 gold medals across various SEA Games. However, this year's Games were a low point as she didn't win any medals. Sharing her feelings, Thuy Vi couldn't hide her sadness: "Any athlete who competes and doesn't win a medal is sad, and so am I. If everyone else is sad and hopeful, then the athlete must be sad a thousand times over. Athletes are the ones competing, the ones putting in the effort and training every day. Sweat and tears are just talk, but athletes feel it most clearly."

Explaining this result, Thúy Vi said that the change in competition rules by the host country, combining three events into one medal set, created significant pressure to maintain consistency. Notably, while younger competitors from Malaysia and Indonesia chose to lower the difficulty level to ensure safety, Thúy Vi remained steadfast in maintaining the same difficulty level as at the World Championships. She accepted the risk because she didn't want her technique to decline before the ASIAD, and also wanted to set an example for younger competitors to improve, rather than compromising and lowering her skill level.

Thúy Vi's martial arts performance

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

"If, like in previous times, each event had a separate set of medals, the chances of winning would have been higher. However, it's difficult for everyone. To be honest, this time I regret the points deducted. Those deductions didn't appear in my performances at the World Championships. Normally, when I practice those moves at home, I get it right 100%, without a single mistake," Thúy Vi said regretfully.

At 32, many people are concerned about Duong Thuy Vi's physical condition, but she has made a strong statement. The wushu athlete, born in 1993, confidently asserts that she is still in good shape, even superior to younger athletes in the same region. "Of course, I can't be as healthy as I was when I was 20. But compared to all the younger athletes in the same event as me in other countries, my health and technique are better," Thuy Vi emphasized.

Thúy Vi did not reduce the difficulty of the test compared to when she participated in the world championship.

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

According to Thuy Vi, the ASIAD in September 2026 will be her fourth time participating. The 32-year-old athlete hopes to improve her performance and skills compared to the SEA Games 33, thereby achieving success for Vietnamese sports .

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hoa-khoi-lang-vo-duong-thuy-vi-khong-hua-se-du-sea-games-34-185251215145848103.htm