Continue to invest and affirm the position of wrestling

Wrestling team athletes practice techniques and physical strength at the Provincial Sports Training and Competition Center.

Since the 1990s, wrestling has been the core sport of Thanh Hoa's high-performance sports with many excellent athletes in competitions, such as: Le Duc Tung, men's 70kg (1990-1997); Luong Thi Quyen, women's 63kg (2002-2012); Nguyen Thi Vinh, women's 60kg (2015-2018); Dang Thi Linh, women's 76kg (2019-present). These are all athletes who have won SEA Games gold medals, athlete Nguyen Thi Vinh has won an Asian bronze medal. In addition, at any stage, the wrestling team has many talented athletes contributing to the national team.

Currently, Thanh Hoa wrestling team has 6 coaches and 34 athletes. Among them are 12 provincial athletes, 12 youth athletes and 10 talented athletes. The team regularly attends training sessions and participates in major tournaments. During the training and competition process, the athletes have made remarkable progress in technique and tactics, promoting their strengths and abilities.

The team's coaching staff always proactively develops lesson plans, has separate exercises for each athlete, each weight class to promote each person's strengths. The team maintains a regular, scientific training schedule. The coaching staff has a methodical approach, prioritizing key investments for talented athletes, capable of winning medals, striving to maintain achievements in weight classes, strong events at tournaments. Innovation in the selection, training, and coaching of athletes at all levels: gifted, young, and national teams is a prerequisite for the success of wrestling.

With the goal of training the next generation capable of competing for medals in important arenas such as the SEA Games, Asia, and the world, the coaches of the wrestling team have not hesitated to go to localities in the province to search for and select new factors for the sport. At the same time, talented athletes have been discovered from grassroots tournaments, sports competitions, and the Phu Dong Sports Festival... The training of young athletes has been focused on and invested in, with facilities strengthened and improved. The coaching team continues to be standardized, with professional qualifications improved, and there are reasonable adjustments and arrangements to maximize the effectiveness and quality of training.

With attention paid to athlete selection and training, the wrestling team has made remarkable progress, with the emergence of young and new players who have made breakthroughs in achievements in the national and international tournament system.

In the national wrestling team, Thanh Hoa has 6 outstanding, young faces, including: Dang Thi Linh (76kg women's), Duong Thi Nga (50kg women's), Le Thi My Dung (53kg women's), Nguyen Van Tu (74kg men's), Trinh Van Long (79kg men's), Le Ngoc Vinh (125kg men's). These are not only wrestlers who have affirmed their class, continuously winning gold medals at national tournaments in recent years, but also new faces with great potential. Notably, athlete Dang Thi Linh (76kg) has had no opponents in the region for many years; athlete Duong Thi Nga won silver medal at the 2024 U20 World Beach Wrestling Championship.

Head coach of Thanh Hoa wrestling team Nguyen Minh Duong said: “Through the selection, training and systematic practice, veteran athletes have affirmed their class and position, while young athletes have made strong breakthroughs, helping wrestling continuously achieve high achievements in both national and international arenas. At youth wrestling tournaments, athletes have made breakthroughs in their achievements in the competing events and weight classes. Currently, Thanh Hoa wrestling team is considered one of the top strong teams compared to other provinces, cities and industries. Over the past 20 years, Thanh Hoa athletes have always affirmed their position in the top 3 and top 4 in women's freestyle wrestling.”

At the most recent SEA Games, Thanh Hoa has contributed excellent wrestlers and achieved high results. At the domestic arena, Thanh Hoa athletes have also shown their superiority. At the 2024 National Wrestling Championship, the wrestling team won 9 medals, ranking third overall in the women's freestyle wrestling event. At the 2024 Southeast Asian and Oceania Wrestling Championship, the wrestling team had an impressive journey with 3 gold medals and 3 silver medals. At the 2025 National Club Championship, the Thanh Hoa Wrestling team continued to demonstrate stability and bravery when winning 1 gold medal, 2 silver medals, 2 bronze medals, thereby maintaining the third place overall in their forte - women's freestyle wrestling.

Head of Training Management Department, Provincial Sports Training and Competition Center Nguyen Ngoc Hai, said: “The Center focuses on perfecting the training system for athletes in all three levels; ensuring resources, promoting the socialization of high-performance sports. In addition to constantly improving and standardizing the coaching staff, wrestling is flexible in training, creating conditions for students to participate in training and compete in tournaments. Thereby, the coaching staff screens the force, discovers talented athletes, to invest in key areas and strategies for the following years.”

Article and photos: Anh Tuan

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/tiep-tuc-quan-tam-dau-tu-khang-dinh-vi-the-cua-mon-vat-247626.htm