Excellent Tay female boxer wins ticket to attend 2024 Paris Olympics

Võ sỹ Hà Thị Linh. — Martial artist Ha Thi Linh.

"Looking at my brave daughter on the stage now, I still can't forget the feeling of sadness when I remember her when she was 13 years old, the age when she was not yet full and had no worries. Every time the family saw their youngest daughter off at the train station to Hanoi, she cried like rain because she missed her parents."

In the story about Ha Thi Linh (Lao Cai city) from her family, the journey of maturity of the female boxer of Tay ethnic group who won the ticket to attend the 2024 Paris Olympics for the first time of Vietnam is depicted clearly, realistically and vividly.

Athlete Ha Thi Linh has many special things. Not only is she one of the oldest athletes in Vietnamese sports to have officially won a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics (France), the female athlete currently under the management of Hanoi Sports is a rare case who has gotten married and had children but is still determined to return to training and competing and then won a ticket to the Olympics.

Born and raised in Tay Muong Bat village (Thong Nhat commune, Lao Cai city), Ha Thi Linh is the third child in the family. In 7th grade, after a survey at school, Linh was invited by Yen Bai sports coaches to train volleyball because they saw that she was taller than her peers.

In the memory of Mrs. Tran Thi Vinh (Linh's mother), Linh was the youngest child and was pampered by the whole family. Therefore, when her child decided to go far away to study sports, she was shocked.

"Linh has been very strong, has a strong personality and likes to exercise since she was little. In particular, Linh is very opinionated. If she sets her mind to something, she will persevere to the end. Knowing that I cannot stop her, even though I am sad, I try to encourage her to integrate into the new school and place of residence," Ms. Vinh confided.

Due to many objective and subjective reasons, his affinity with volleyball was not strong. A year later, in 2005, the turning point came when Linh was fortunately invited by Hanoi Sports to practice boxing because they realized that his potential physical qualities were extremely suitable for this powerful sport.

Having chosen the right sport, Linh's energy seemed to be fully utilized. In 2008, Linh officially entered the professional competition path. Like many other athletes, Linh suffered many disadvantages when constantly training and competing away from home.

She even only had time to go home to see her father for the last time a few hours before he passed away. Mrs. Vinh said that her father was a person who had a great influence on Linh. In the beginning, Linh herself and some relatives were quite confused and skeptical about the sports path she chose.

At that time, Linh's father was the one who constantly encouraged and pointed out her strengths, making her more and more confident in her choice. After her father passed away, turning grief into action, in 2013, Linh won her first Gold Medal in the 64 kg weight class at the 27th SEA Games held in Myanmar.

Mrs. Vinh still remembers that her filial daughter had just returned home from the tournament and, upon receiving the prize money, hugged her mother: "Mom, I can help you ease your hardship."

In 2015, Linh affirmed her talent when she won the Bronze Medal at the Asian Boxing Championship. However, the years 2016 and 2017 were a quiet period in Linh's international competition career when she was repeatedly unable to participate in the 28th, 29th, and 30th SEA Games because she did not have a weight class. This was also the time when she isolated her family and had children, so her competition was interrupted.

In 2018, Linh had just given birth to a baby 4 months ago, and had not yet weaned, but she soon returned to training to compete. At that time, Mrs. Tran Thi Vinh had to follow her daughter to Hanoi to help take care of her grandchild.

After giving birth, her physical strength declined, so Linh had to try many times harder than her colleagues to train her endurance and physical strength. Witnessing the entire process of her daughter's efforts to return to the ring, Ms. Vinh said that Linh was always the first to arrive at the gym and the last to leave.

"When you guys left the gym, I saw him still sitting there, rewrapping his arm and continuing to practice."

Linh's efforts were duly rewarded when she won the Gold Medal in the women's 69 kg category at the 2018 National Sports Festival. After giving birth to her second child, with the encouragement and support of her husband and family, in 2022, Ha Linh returned to compete at the National Sports Festival and won an impressive Gold Medal. In 2023, she continued to excel in winning the Gold Medal in the 63 kg category at the 32nd SEA Games held in Cambodia.

On the evening of June 2, 2024, the peaceful Tay village of Muong Bat joyfully welcomed the news that Vietnamese female boxer Ha Thi Linh - a daughter of the village - had excellently won the match for the last ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics in the women's 60 kg weight class, helping Vietnamese boxing get the second ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

After the victory, Linh shared that her family, husband and children are her strong support and a great source of encouragement for her to have the highest determination in each tournament. According to the schedule, Ha Thi Linh's opening match in the women's 60 kg category will take place at 9:18 p.m. on July 27, 2024.

At this time, over the phone, despite the time zone difference, Linh and her family still took advantage of the limited time during their break in France to chat, giving her more strength to have a steady mindset, determined to compete for the highest results. "The family is always behind you. I wish you to compete calmly and achieve the best results, bringing glory to the Fatherland," Ms. Vinh said.

Source