Sir, regarding the information about athlete Pham Nhu Phuong's retirement as well as revealing the hidden corners of having to pay 10% of the medal bonus and pay money to a "strange fund" that Dan Tri newspaper has published in recent days, what instructions has the Department of Physical Training and Sports (DST) given in the inspection and handling?
- In response to the information reported by Dan Tri newspaper, which happened very quickly, the Department of Sports and Physical Training has coordinated with the High Performance Sports Department, the Vietnam Gymnastics Federation as well as relevant departments to organize two consecutive meetings in the past two days to clarify the incident.
At the headquarters of the Department of Sports and Physical Training, Director of the Department of Sports and Physical Training Dang Ha Viet answered Dan Tri reporters about a series of articles about national gymnast Pham Nhu Phuong asking to retire and the irregularities in collecting medal bonus money in this sport (Photo: Minh Quang).
There are two major issues that we focus on: One is the decision of national gymnastics team athlete Pham Nhu Phuong to retire, the reasons leading to this and how to handle it.
Second, are there any negative incidents in the collection of medal bonuses and illegal fund collection between coaches and athletes? We have to see where the fault lies, whether it is the fault of the individual coach or the coaching staff, whether the fault occurred at the Hanoi Sports Training and Competition Center or even at the national team?
This morning we had a very long meeting with the Hanoi National Sports Training Center, the National Gymnastics Team Coaching Board, and relevant departments to thoroughly understand the matter.
Director of the Department of Sports and Physical Training Dang Ha Viet responded to Dan Tri newspaper about the controversy related to the Hanoi women's gymnastics team (Video: Minh Quang).
The big mistake belongs to the 2 coaches of athlete Pham Nhu Phuong.
So up to now, the Department of Sports and Physical Training has probably heard explanations from relevant parties and specifically grasped what, sir?
- Regarding the case of athlete Pham Nhu Phuong retiring, we have heard explanations from the coaches as well as the Department of Physical Education and Sports at the Hanoi Sports Training and Competition Center. We acknowledge that the information reported by Dan Tri newspaper is accurate.
The story of athlete Pham Nhu Phuong asking to go to the US and submitting a request for permission to 2 coaches, or more precisely, a commitment letter from her family to 2 coaches is true. Unfortunately, Phuong's two coaches Nguyen Ha Thanh and Nguyen Thuy Duong did not follow the correct procedures when they did not report to the Department of Physical Education and Sports of the Hanoi Sports Training and Competition Center to ask for permission. The biggest responsibility in this matter belongs to coaches Ha Thanh and Thuy Duong.
As a result, after the Sports Training and Competition Center learned that athlete Pham Nhu Phuong went abroad without submitting an application or reporting for permission according to regulations, they did not propose her to be on the training list for the national gymnastics team in 2024.
Please clarify that the decision of the Hanoi Sports Training and Competition Center not to nominate athlete Pham Nhu Phuong to the training list of the national gymnastics team at that time was correct, because the call-up of athletes to the national team has a specific standard, which is that the athlete must be present at the time of the call-up, and must undergo a good enough training period to achieve the best performance.
While athlete Pham Nhu Phuong was still in the US at that time (from mid-December 2023 to early January this year), she did not undergo the necessary training time.
As you confirmed, athlete Pham Nhu Phuong submitted a request to 2 coaches but the 2 coaches forgot to report and forgot to send the request to the leaders, leading to this athlete being removed from the national team list and having to choose the path of retirement because of too much disappointment. What do you think when the mistake of adults, the mistake occurred at the most important link in the procedure of applying for permission to go to the US, led to a bigger consequence of a talented athlete having to retire at the age of 20.
- It must be affirmed that the national team has never removed Pham Nhu Phuong's name from the list. There is no record or disciplinary decision regarding this. We must understand that the national team did not remove her name, but did not call Phuong up at that time, because she was not present and was not in the best form.
According to Mr. Dang Ha Viet, the national gymnastics team did not remove athlete Pham Nhu Phuong's name, but did not call her up due to her absence and her best performance before making the training list (Photo: Manh Quan).
If Pham Nhu Phuong continues to train and achieve good form, the national team will call her back. The national team always welcomes and needs young, talented athletes like Pham Nhu Phuong. Therefore, we feel very sorry for this incident that Pham Nhu Phuong decided to retire.
Sir, do you regret Pham Nhu Phuong's decision to retire at the age of 20 and should we find a way to retain talent, convince this athlete to return to the national team and contribute to the country's sports?
- I have also experienced being an athlete, a coach and then moving to management, so I understand and regret Nhu Phuong's retirement. Training an athlete for high performance sports is a long and costly process. It requires the efforts of many stages and many people.
Each athlete of high performance sports must spend at least 10 years of training, like Nhu Phuong, nearly 14 years of training, and must make a lot of effort and sacrifice. The process of training high performance athletes must have the participation of many coaches and professional staff in order to achieve results.
However, Nhu Phuong retiring at the age of 20 is a pity. In the near future, we, along with the relevant departments, will meet with this athlete's family to listen to their wishes and aspirations, but I think it will be difficult, because she has made her own decision after the incident.
Personal mistakes are the bad apples that spoil the bunch?!
Sir, the story of Nhu Phuong's retirement is clear. The issue that Dan Tri readers are interested in is the story of collecting 10% of medal bonuses, collecting 50% of bonus money as well as strange funds that athlete Pham Nhu Phuong has denounced. How has the Department of Sports and Physical Training inspected and clarified this matter?
- As the head of the industry, I affirm that the industry's policy and regulations strictly prohibit the establishment of funds, and absolutely prohibit coaches from collecting any money from athletes. We strictly prohibit the national gymnastics team or any local team from collecting money from athletes or establishing illegal funds. Anyone who violates will be held legally responsible.
Regarding the withdrawal of 10% of medal bonus, withdrawal of 50% of bonus or establishment of strange fund as athlete Pham Nhu Phuong has accused, through the explanation minutes from the coach, up to now we have confirmed that it happened and the violator is coach Nguyen Thuy Duong. This coach has admitted that the incident happened. This is a personal violation of one person, not of the collective.
There are no such fees or funds in the national team. Coach Truong Tuan Hien of the men's team and Coach Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy of the women's national gymnastics team confirmed that there are no fees for medal bonuses or funds. This is a matter for Coach Nguyen Thuy Duong, even though she is also the coach of the national team.
Coach Nguyen Thuy Duong has now had to stop coaching the national gymnastics team after making mistakes in collecting medal bonuses from athletes (Photo: Manh Quan).
For now, we have directed to suspend the coaching work of the national gymnastics team with Coach Nguyen Ha Thanh and Coach Nguyen Thuy Duong - the two coaches who forgot to report the departure of athlete Pham Nhu Phuong to the US. Regarding the negative matter of collecting bonus fees by Coach Nguyen Thuy Duong, we are requesting a more detailed report to have a solution.
Dear Director, the press has recently mentioned the negative incidents that occurred in the national youth table tennis team, and then in the national gymnastics team. In order to prevent the incidents that, as you said, "one bad apple spoils the barrel", what measures should the Sports and Physical Training Department take to be sufficiently deterrent?
- As the head of the industry, I feel sad and disappointed about what happened. After these events, we need to organize meetings, listen to opinions from experts, from professional departments to have good enough measures and policies to support and help coaches and athletes in the training and competition process to bring high achievements to the country's sports.
Director of the Department of Physical Training and Sports Dang Ha Viet affirmed that he felt sad because of the "bad apples spoiling the bunch" in the country's physical training and sports in recent times (Photo: Minh Quang).
Financially, we will always make public the sources of income and expenditure, so that coaches and athletes clearly understand their rights and responsibilities. On the contrary, we will thoroughly handle any individuals or units that commit violations, with enough deterrence and to set an example for others.
Thank you for this interview!
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