Past failures help Vietnamese women's rattan ball defeat Thailand

Vietnam women's sepak takraw team coach Tran Thi Vui (middle) and the players who won the 2025 World Cup women's 4-round event - Photo: SEPAKTAKRAWINDIA

On March 22, the Vietnamese women's sepak takraw team made history by winning the 4v4 women's sepak takraw World Cup in India. Their loser was Thailand, a very strong team that has won many world championships and World Cups.

Success does not come from luck

The four girls who were arranged to start in the final match were Tran Thi Ngoc Yen, Nguyen Thi My, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Huyen and Nguyen Thi Yen, who brought home a thrilling victory after 3 games with the scores of 15-12, 12-15, 15-13. This is the first time in history that Vietnamese Sepak Takraw has won a gold medal at a World Cup, an official tournament organized by the International Sepak Takraw Federation (ISTAF).

Sharing with Tuoi Tre Online on March 23 after the historic championship, coach of the women's sepak takraw team Tran Thi Vui said: "We are extremely happy and excited. Everyone knows that Thailand is a very strong team with a rich tradition. Therefore, defeating them in the final match has a lot of meaning."

The Vietnamese Sepak Takraw team has determined from the beginning that the World Cup in India is one of the important tournaments this year. To prepare for the tournament, Ms. Vui and her students gathered the team early to train, practice and perfect their techniques and tactics.

"We prepared very carefully for the tournament. All the athletes showed seriousness and determination. Although the team did not set the goal of winning the championship, everyone showed a spirit of victory.

I don't deny that the team had some luck, but that's not everything. In recent years, Vietnamese women's sepak takraw has made a lot of progress, and the skill gap with Thailand has gradually narrowed. Winning the World Cup is a long process, not just a success thanks to luck."

Getting closer to Thailand

The 4v4 women's sepak takraw event of Vietnam has indeed had many remarkable achievements in the past few years. In 2022, they made a surprise when they defeated Thailand in the final of the World Championship. In 2023, coach Tran Thi Vui and her team won the gold medal at the Asian Games held in Hangzhou (China).

However, Thailand is still the dominant country in this sport. To be fair, the Asian Games gold medal is partly due to Thailand not participating in the women's 4-team event. Otherwise, most of the Vietnamese sepak takraw is still inferior to this opponent, in terms of head-to-head results.

According to Ms. Vui, the victory over Thailand in the World Cup final has great significance. She said: "When competing, no one wants to face a strong opponent. That is also our mentality before the final match with Thailand. But I believe they are also somewhat wary of Vietnam, because they understand that Vietnamese sepak takraw has improved a lot. We have lost to them many times, including the defeat in the 2023 SEA Games final. But those losses have helped the athletes learn many valuable lessons.

In this year's World Cup final, I highly appreciated the mentality of my students. They were no longer afraid, so they did not make mistakes at the decisive moment. After the World Cup, this year, we will have two more important tournaments: the Asian Championship and the 33rd SEA Games.

Thailand will be the host of these two tournaments, so it won't be easy for the Vietnamese team. But I hope this success will give us more confidence, helping the whole team play well in the next tournaments. Thailand is still a very strong opponent, worthy of respect. But we have a relaxed spirit and confidence."

After the 4-on-4 men's and women's sepak takraw events, the Vietnamese sepak takraw team will continue to participate in the 4-on-4 mixed events, 3-on-3 men's and women's events, and men's and women's doubles events at the 2025 World Cup. The entire team is expected to return home on March 27.

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DUC KHUE