Tiny Phuong Quynh in front of Iran's giant opponent
In addition to familiar sports inside and outside the Olympic system, ASIAD 19 also has sports that attract audiences, including kurash - a popular folk wrestling style in Central Asia.
In this sport, wrestlers use towels to hold their opponents with the goal of throwing them off the field. Kurash first appeared at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia in 2018 and in the Southeast Asian region at the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines.
In Indonesia in 2018, kurash contributed to the overall achievements of the Vietnamese sports delegation with a bronze medal won by female competitor Nguyen Thi Lan. At the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines alone, kurash brought home a shower of gold with 7 gold medals, 1 silver medal and 2 bronze medals, far surpassing all other competitors.
At the 19th ASIAD in Hangzhou (China), after the first 2 days, Vietnamese kurash was under great pressure when it did not win any medals, while Uzbekistan dominated (4 gold medals, 1 silver medal, 1 bronze medal). On the final day of competition, Vietnam had 2 remaining athletes, Vo Thi Phuong Quynh (87 kg for women) and Bui Minh Quan (90 kg for men).
Phuong Quynh brought home the first and only bronze medal of Vietnamese kurash at ASIAD 19
Entering the final quarter-final match of the women's 87 kg event, Vo Thi Phuong Quynh competed very well, continuously defeating her opponent with wrestling moves to win early with a score of 10-0 against Jahan of Turkmenistan, while Bui Minh Quan stopped at the quarter-finals when losing to Atayev, also of Turkmenistan.
Unfortunately, in the semi-finals, Vo Thi Phuong Quynh could not continue when she lost to Bahheri Zahra (Iran, who won the world gold medal) with a score of 0-3, receiving the bronze medal which was also the only medal of Kurash Vietnam at ASIAD 19.
The female boxer, who is a member of the judo and kurash team of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, said: "I also feel a bit regretful because my original goal was to reach the finals. My opponent was much stronger than me. I tried my best but this result is a success.
I am very excited and happy to be selected to participate in the ASIAD for the first time. Before, I played judo, only practicing kurash since June. When I switched to this sport, I thought it was similar to judo, not much different, so it was convenient for me."
Vo Thi Phuong Quynh won the ASIAD bronze medal after just over 3 months of practicing kurash.
According to Phuong Quynh, she entered the quarter-finals with great determination, having to do something for Kurash (with 6 athletes attending ASIAD and 2 coaches) as well as the overall achievements of the Vietnamese sports delegation.
"This is my first international kurash tournament. Since the team didn't have any medals on the last day, I was determined to win the most prestigious medal for Vietnamese kurash. Before the tournament, I wanted to reach the finals.
But I am very happy to be here. I feel very proud to contribute another bronze medal to the country. In the future, I will definitely practice kurash to achieve more success for the country," said Vo Thi Phuong Quynh emotionally.
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