Wushu fighter Duong Thuy Vi and her leap out of her "comfort zone" at the SEA Games 33.

(Dan Tri Newspaper) - Despite failing to win a medal at the SEA Games 33, Duong Thuy Vi still accepted the risk with the most difficult event, challenging her limits and competing to the very end.

A stumble in her first event at the 33rd SEA Games did not deter Duong Thuy Vi. The female martial artist calmly returned to the mat, completing the remaining two events: Spear Technique and Women's Weapons Sparring. At that point, the focus of the competition was no longer on the medal table, but on how an icon of Vietnamese wushu chose to face adversity, competing to the very last minute for honor and pride in the national colors.

Earlier, on the opening day of Vietnam's wushu team at the 33rd SEA Games, Duong Thuy Vi took a gamble in the Long Fist event, a discipline that was not the female martial artist's forte.

It was a risky decision, but it was also Duong Thuy Vi's way of asserting the character of a champion who refuses to follow the beaten path. With her medal collection already filled from the SEA Games and Asian Games to the world stage, the female martial artist chose to step out of her "comfort zone" to break through her own limits.

From 2024, international wushu began implementing a new scoring system, under which athletes can perform a 630-degree spin in the air but still receive the same points as a 720-degree spin.

This regulation somewhat reduced the difficulty of the performances. However, at the age of 32, Duong Thuy Vi did not choose the safe option, but continued to pursue the most challenging performance, pushing beyond her familiar limits.

However, a momentary lapse in concentration upon landing caused Duong Thuy Vi to lose a significant number of points, dropping her to the bottom group with 8.933 points in the Long Fist event.

When that number appeared on the electronic scoreboard of the wushu arena, it was one of the rare "quiet" moments in the already glorious journey of Vietnam's wushu "queen".

In the three-part scoring format, there's almost no room for error, and that misstep quickly knocked Thúy Vi out of the medal race from the very first day of competition.

At this year's SEA Games, host nation Thailand adopted a rigorous competition format, combining three forms (forms) and two weapons events into a single medal set. Wushu taolu (performance) thus became a comprehensive test, requiring athletes not only to possess perfect technique but also to have a strong physical foundation to maintain performance through three events over three consecutive days.

Therefore, Duong Thuy Vi's choice at the 33rd SEA Games was not simply a matter of winning or losing. It was the decision of a champion who accepted the risks, competing to the very end, even knowing that a single mistake could be costly. And on the SEA Games 33 mat, the "queen" of Vietnamese wushu chose the most difficult path: challenging her own limits.

At what could have been her final SEA Games, Duong Thuy Vi chose not to play it safe but instead challenged her own limits. Even in this rare tournament where the "queen" of wushu didn't win a medal, the image of a champion who dared to gamble on her own limits to break through and aim for bigger arenas in the future remains clear.

Taking risks and pursuing difficult moves at the age of 32 became compelling evidence of the noble sportsmanship of an icon of Vietnamese wushu.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/vo-si-wushu-duong-thuy-vi-va-buoc-nhay-khoi-vung-an-toan-sea-games-33-20251215132845325.htm