1993 will certainly be the most memorable milestone in my table tennis career when, together with teammates Ly Minh Triet, Truong Hai Lam, Tran Tuan Anh B and Nguyen Quang Dung, I helped the People's Public Security (CAND) team win the national men's team championship for the first time. In addition, the men's doubles championship with Le Hoang Loi helped me be called up to the national team at the age of 19.
Ly Minh Tan in the national table tennis team 1994
The day I set foot in the training site for the Vietnamese team as a rookie, I was completely bewildered by life in the place where sports talents for the country are trained. I still remember the first meal here when each athlete had a bowl of chicken pho and a box of yogurt for breakfast (a few days later it was changed to milk but for the whole table). For normal people, that would be a very delicious and filling meal for the morning. However, for athletes who have to practice at high intensity, we get hungry early and look forward to lunch time. At lunch, 8 athletes will sit at a table with the main dish of braised pork and eggs, a plate of stir-fried meat, vegetables and a large bowl of soup. Sometimes, the kitchen gives us dog meat, so many athletes have to skip it because they are not used to it. The afternoon meal after hours of hard training is not much different from lunch. In the evening, if hungry, athletes have to go out to eat or buy instant noodles to eat before going to bed.
Ly Minh Tan when he was young
In the following days, we were served sticky rice with pork, fried egg bread, spring rolls with pork… for breakfast, and although the meals changed, the same dishes were served over and over again, so the athletes started to get bored. Many days we went down to the cafeteria, saw the fried egg bread, everyone shook their heads because it was too dry, so most of them threw away their food. To have the energy to practice, my teammates like Tran Xuan Thien (Vinh Long), Tran Thien Tam
(HCMC), Tran Le Phuong Linh (HCMC) or Huynh Trung Hieu (CAND)… had to walk outside to eat their favorite foods. Gradually, the athletes became regulars at the restaurants outside. There, the food was diverse so we ate very well. What impressed me most were the players of the wrestling team. They had a big appetite so their tables were always empty. That’s why the table tennis team sometimes shared their food with their colleagues.
CONDITIONS FOR TRAINING IN THE NATIONAL TEAM ARE NOT EQUAL TO THE CLUB
The menu and food when we train with the national team is very different from when we train with the Public Security team or train abroad. At the club, my teammates and I can choose our favorite dishes while still ensuring nutrition. Or when the national team goes to train in a country near Vietnam, even though it is only a training center of a small province, the food regime is very different. Here, the Vietnamese players eat with the athletes of the other country in a self-selected form. Everyone can eat what they like with a variety of nutritious foods.
Former coach of the Vietnamese tennis team Truong Quang Vu shared: "Nutrition for athletes is a very long story. Although we know that eating and drinking are regulated by the state, for professional athletes, providing adequate nutrition is very important. For the tennis team, the whole team has to order extra food or buy it from outside with the team's own money." Buying extra food for nutrition is not an unfamiliar story in the lives of athletes like me and many other players. I once witnessed a national football team player in 1994 having to buy a boiled chicken to bring back to his room to eat.
A colleague once told me that, perhaps due to a lack of nutrition, the Vietnamese football players appeared very tired after the 2-1 victory over Myanmar in the semi-finals of the 18th SEA Games, and almost did not have time to recover their strength when entering the final match against the host team Thailand.
Recently, the parent of a female athlete of the Vietnamese tennis team said: "I almost have to supplement my child with foods that are full of nutrients. Because if she only eats according to the team's diet, she will not have enough nutrients and the best physical strength. Without physical strength, it will definitely be very difficult for her to pursue exercises that require high speed and even when competing in a top environment. That is also what Vietnamese athletes lose compared to international opponents every time they compete."
As for a former player like me, who spent 3 years in the national team environment, until now, I still remember the dishes at the training location in the country. That was also a memorable time in my 23-year tennis career and I contributed to the country with a silver medal in the team at the 18th SEA Games held in Chiang Mai (Thailand).
I thought that meals with poor menus only happened when the country's economy was still facing many difficulties. But recently, when I heard the story of the juniors in the Vietnam youth table tennis team complaining of hunger, I felt sad... Of course, I hope that this will not happen again ( to be continued ).
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