Wushu Queen Duong Thuy Vi and the choices of a woman standing at the pinnacle of glory.

At the 33rd SEA Games, host nation Thailand implemented a new and rigorous format in wushu, where the three forms and two weapons events were combined to award a single set of medals. With no room for individual performances to shine, wushu taolu (performance) became a test of physical fitness, mental fortitude, and the ability to maintain consistent performance over three consecutive days.

For Duong Thuy Vi, this SEA Games still features three familiar events: Swordsmanship, Spearmanship, and Long Fist. Of these, Long Fist – an event not her specialty – becomes the first hurdle, where the champion must face the biggest challenge right from the opening day of competition.

In the context of the new international scoring rules allowing for a reduction in difficulty (a 630 movement is counted as a 720), many athletes seek to optimize their scores through reliability. But Thúy Vy did not choose the safe path.

At the age of 32, an age when most top wushu athletes have retired, she still registered for the most difficult event. A highly challenging decision. However, a mistake during the landing moment caused Thúy Vi to lose a significant number of points, falling to the bottom group and almost eliminating herself from the medal race on the very first day of competition.

When the score of 8,933 appeared on the electronic scoreboard at the wushu arena at the 33rd SEA Games, for Duong Thuy Vi, it was a rare moment of quiet reflection in the already glorious journey of Vietnam's wushu queen.

But viewed more broadly, it wasn't the failure of an athlete, but rather the choice of a champion who transcended the need to prove himself through achievements.

With a collection of medals spanning from the SEA Games and Asian Games to world championships, Duong Thuy Vi doesn't need a "safe" medal to prove her class. In what may be the last SEA Games of her career, her biggest opponent isn't the familiar names on the international stage, but rather her own limits.

And as usual, Thuy Vy didn't give up. Returning to the sword fighting competition, the "wushu queen" immediately shone, rising to the top 3, proving the skill and resilience of a true champion.

Today, as she entered the Martial Arts competition, and especially the Women's Weapons Duel with teammate Nguyen Thi Hien – where the opportunity for a medal was still present – Duong Thuy Vi continued to appear not as someone who would simply maintain her composure, but as someone who would maintain her spirit.

Regardless of the outcome, every movement she made on the mat carried a clear message: wushu is not just a race for points, but an art of courage and dedication.

Perhaps the 33rd SEA Games won't end exactly as fans hoped for Duong Thuy Vi. But what she leaves behind – her courage to take risks at the age of 32, her sportsmanship in the face of mistakes, and her desire to surpass herself – will be worth more than any medal.

And today, as Thuy Vi steps onto the mat again, Vietnamese sports fans have every right to expect not just a beautiful performance, but the image of a true champion: one who never competes in fear.

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