Nguyen Thi Thiet is the only female weightlifter in Vietnam to have participated in the Olympics twice and is the current SEA Games champion in the 63 kg category, and runner-up in Asia. Before meeting Thiet, I thought that she must be a strong and tough girl, but I was wrong...
Dreaming of holding a pen but stuck in a weightlifting career
This year is the 9th year that this girl from Thanh Ha ( Hai Duong ) has been involved in weightlifting, something she never expected. Thiet's dream before was to hold a pen and sit in a university lecture hall. But sometimes in life, it is our career that chooses us. Thiet's case is a proof.
When she was in grade 9, Thiet was a swimmer of Hai Duong. With her talent and good physical strength, she caught the eye of experts in weightlifting. Ms. Hoang Kim Cuc (weightlifting coach of Hanoi ) at that time was the one who discovered Thiet's potential and potential. The Department of Sports and Physical Education of Hai Duong also advised Thiet to switch to weightlifting to develop a new sport for the province and promised to send her to train at Tu Son University of Sports. Arriving at the University of Sports and Physical Education, the dream of becoming a teacher or a sports coach still burned in her.
 Nguyen Thi Thiet in the gym at the National Sports Training Center I in Hanoi |
But ironically, the more Thiet practiced weightlifting, the more promising he became. “From not having any idea what weightlifting was, After only one year, I won the national gold medal in October 2001. So I have had to stick with weightlifting until now." When Thiet won the national gold medal in 2001, it was a shock to experts because she surpassed seniors like Truong Thi Yen and Doan Hong Thom, who had just won the silver and bronze medals at the 21st SEA Games.
So weightlifting kept "taking" Thiet away. She also had to put aside her dream of sitting in a university lecture hall to switch to professional weightlifting. Thiet was called up to the national team right after that and when the 22nd SEA Games took place in her home country, although she was only 20 years old, Thiet also won a silver medal.
Try to study
Currently, Thiet is training with the Vietnamese team to prepare for the Asian Championship in April. For the past 9 years, Thiet's life has been almost only counted by training sessions with the team. Although she did not say it, she could not hide her sadness when talking about the private life of a girl who took up the weightlifting profession. Thiet confided: "Sometimes I feel very sad. Even people in the sports world look at girls who pursue weightlifting as a career like me with unsympathetic eyes, let alone outsiders. They think that we are uneducated, "stupid-minded, with underdeveloped limbs" to pursue this career. Those people do not know that I myself also long to go to school, but for the sake of the achievements of our country's sports, I have to try...".
While listening to Thiet’s story, we didn’t notice that Vietnam’s number one female weightlifter had started crying. But Thiet quickly wiped away her tears and asserted strongly: “I want to prove that besides sports, I can also do other things. Now I’m trying to learn more foreign languages and computers so that no one can look down on me.”
Born in a rural area, Thiet is the youngest of four siblings, none of whom are sports professionals. We can understand the 26-year-old girl's dream of pursuing a successful academic career, but we did not expect Thiet to cry so easily. During our conversation in the gym full of iron weights at the National Sports Training Center I (Hanoi), Thiet cried at least twice!
Special fans Looking back at the past and looking to the future, Thiet's heart also has a reason to be happy again. Thiet "revealed" that she has a boyfriend, a guy the same age, from the same hometown and was Thiet's former high school classmate. "He is not a sports person, and is working in Ho Chi Minh City. Although we are far apart, he never misses any of my tournaments" - Thiet said with eyes shining with joy. I asked: “On February 14 or March 8, what do you wish for from that person?”. Thiet said that on those days she always received fresh bouquets of flowers and gifts sent from the South. That was the motivation for Thiet to continue with weightlifting even though she might only continue weightlifting for another year because she planned to take care of her family and go to school to become a coach after the 25th SEA Games. |
Source: https://nld.com.vn/the-thao/nu-luc-si-mau-nuoc-mat-2009030803243482.htm
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