Boxer Nguyen Thi Tam and the Vietnamese sports delegation at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – Photo by Getty Images
At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, in the first round of 16, in the women’s -51kg weight class, boxer Nguyen Thi Tam fought with a strong opponent, Stoyka Krasteva, Bulgarian. Nguyen Thi Tam’s opponent, a female boxer born in 1985, Stoyka Krasteva, was a two-time European Champion (2014, 2018), two-time silver medal at the World Championships (2016, 2018), once ranked fifth at the 2012 Olympics and won tickets to the 2020 Olympics after qualifying for Europe.
Nguyen Thi Tam (blue) in the match against Stoyka Krasteva at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics – Photo by Getty Images.
Against a strong and experienced opponent like Krasteva Zhelyazkova, Nguyen Thi Tam still entered the game with confidence. The Vietnamese female boxer actively attacked continuously, but Krasteva Zhelyazkova also “returned” quite well, so she won close to the score in the first half. At the end of the first half, three referees gave Krasteva 10 points, two people scored 9 points. Meanwhile, Vietnamese boxers get two points of 10 and three points of 9.
In the second half, Nguyen Thi Tam hit better. She actively attacks with quick and accurate combos. The Vietnamese boxer equalized the score when this time three referees gave her a 10 and two gave her a 9. The two boxers put all their strength into the third round, attacking equally. Nguyen Thi Tam scored three 10 points and one point 9, one point ahead of her opponent. However, in the end, the boxer Nguyen Thi Tam still lost 2-3 to Krasteva Zhelyazkova and had to leave the Olympics soon.
Competition results of Hanoi boxers at the 2020 Olympics.
“Failure is the mother of success”, after the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Nguyen Thi Tam set a goal for herself, which is to continue to conquer the Olympic 2024 taking place in France 3 years later.
“After the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, I myself have learned a lot of experience and will need to practice hard to win a ticket for the 2024 Olympic Games in France after 3 years. Returning to Vietnam now, I continue to practice. I’m training to hone my tactical skills to have good expertise to prepare to compete at the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam. Certainly, I aim at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a better, more confident form. I would like to thank fans and leaders for having created favorable conditions to help and motivate me to be better motivated in training and competition,” Nguyen Thi Tam shared with the media.
As we all knew, one of the reasons for the failure of Vietnamese athletes at the 2020 Olympics was the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Due to the pandemic, most athletes are not allowed to train and compete internationally. Athletes who returned home after the qualifying round had to undergo 40-day quarantine and had to practice on their own without equipment and space.
Likewise, Nguyen Thi Tam, the Covid-19 pandemic has greatly affected the expertise of Hanoi boxers. Due to the pandemic, during the past 2 years (before attending the Olympics in Tokyo, Japan) Tam and her coach Nguyen Nhu Cuong only practised in Vietnam and did not have the opportunity to train and compete in international tournaments.
After a memorable Olympics, after the end of the isolation period, Nguyen Thi Tam continued to return to practice immediately to keep her best strength. Hopefully, determination, training effort and a lot of experience after the 2020 Olympics will be the luggage for the Hanoi boxer towards the goal of continuing to win tickets to the Olympics.
Minh Tuan