The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee presented certificates of commendation to outstanding athletes.

In the early days of the new year, the moment when athletes from Son La donned the national flag and celebrated winning gold medals at international competitions, everyone was deeply moved and proud.

Looking back over the past year, Son La's sports sector continued to achieve many impressive results at domestic and international sports competitions, bringing glory to the country and the province. The province's athletes participated in 46 regional, national, and international competitions. As a result, they won 148 medals, including 36 gold medals, 38 silver medals, and 74 bronze medals, exceeding the planned target by 118%.

Among those impressive achievements, the most notable are athlete Quàng Thị Thu Nghĩa winning her 4th gold medal at the World Pencak Silat Championships and being voted the best athlete of the tournament; athlete Bạc Thị Khiêm winning a gold medal (women's individual sparring 67 kg category) at the Asian Taekwondo Championships; and athlete Lường Thị Hồng winning a bronze medal (women's javelin throw) at the Southeast Asian U18 Athletics Championships...

Returning home to celebrate the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Snake 2025 in Yen Chau, the "land of sweet bananas and fragrant mangoes," Quang Thi Thu Nghia, the "golden girl of Pencak Silat" of Vietnamese sports, brought back an impressive collection of medals: 2 gold medals at the 31st and 32nd Seagames; 4 gold medals at the Asian Championships in 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023; and 3 gold medals at the World Championships in 2018, 2019, and 2022. Most recently, on December 22, 2024, Thu Nghia shone on the international stage for the fourth time, winning a gold medal at the 20th World Pencak Silat Championships held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

But few know that behind those glittering medals, her journey in pursuing Pencak Silat was a grueling process of training. She had to undergo treatment many times due to injuries. The encouragement and support of her family, along with the guidance and assistance of her coaches, motivated Nghia to overcome all difficulties, determined to do her best in training, improving her skills and tactics for the honor of her homeland.

Athlete Quàng Thị Thu Nghĩa won the Gold Medal at the 20th World Pencak Silat Championship in Abu Dhabi. Photo: PV

Thu Nghia shared: "To bring high achievements to the country and the province, I have made great efforts in training and competition. I always strive to improve myself and develop my professional skills. Not resting on my laurels, I continue to train hard and am determined to win more achievements for national sports."

Like Thu Nghia, the Thai ethnic athlete Bac Thi Khiem was born in Muong Gion, Quynh Nhai district. Having started training and studying away from home at the age of 12, she often wanted to give up because she missed her parents and felt the pressure of balancing intense training with her studies. With her own efforts and the dedicated guidance of her coaches, after more than 10 years in Taekwondo, Khiem has amassed an impressive record of achievements, including: Gold medals at the 30th and 31st SEA Games; Gold medals at the 2017 and 2022 Southeast Asian Championships; and the 2024 Asian Championships; along with many outstanding achievements in domestic competitions.

Sharing with us, Bac Thi Khiem said: "The important thing for every athlete is to have a spirit of overcoming difficulties, learning, and perseverance. The training time is very arduous and long, requiring athletes to have determination and effort to perform and complete the exercises given by the coaches."

Quang Thi Thu Nghia and Bac Thi Khiem are just two of the many athletes from Son La who have achieved high results at domestic and international competitions. They not only compete for the honor of their hometown but their achievements have also contributed to bringing glory to the nation's sports.

"The golden girls" of Son La sports.

The achievements we see today are the result of the effective implementation of the Son La Province High-Performance Sports Development Project for the period 2021-2030. Currently, the Provincial Sports Training and Competition Center is training more than 150 athletes from the talent, youth, and provincial levels in various sports: tennis, badminton, taekwondo, athletics, pencak silat, football, muay... Notably, the majority of athletes are children of ethnic minority groups in the province, including many female athletes.

Mr. Do The Cong, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said: Son La province places special emphasis on athlete selection. This is considered a crucial prerequisite in the development of high-performance sports. Therefore, every year, through coordination with schools in the province, grassroots sports competitions, and mass sports events, we search for, discover, and select talented athletes to supplement the next generation of provincial teams. Training focuses on three levels: talent development, youth selection, and provincial selection, gradually raising the training level to participate in national and international competitions.

The involvement of the government, relevant agencies, and the perseverance of the athletes have overcome the lack of facilities and equipment for training, the long days of separation from loved ones, and the arduous training to achieve success. The achievements that Son La province's sports sector has attained today are a vivid manifestation of the spirit of "Overcoming difficulties - Overcoming oneself." This victory has the value of inspiring and spreading positive values ​​so that young athletes can continue to follow in the footsteps of new successes.

These are the faces from the province's youth sports teams.

At a meeting to commend coaches and athletes from Son La province who achieved outstanding results at international sports competitions in 2024, held in early 2025, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Viet, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, acknowledged and highly appreciated the outstanding achievements of the coaches and athletes at the 2024 international sports competitions. He also expressed his hope that the coaches and athletes would continue to build on their achievements, strive to train hard, overcome difficulties, and achieve the best possible results in future competitions, contributing to the development of national sports and bringing glory to the nation.

New year, new journey, with wishes for the best. High-performance sports in Son La province continue to achieve many new milestones on their development path, contributing to providing quality athletes of various ages for national teams in different sports, bringing glory to the nation and homeland.

Source: Son La Newspaper