- Title: VIETNAM: BOXING RESUMES AFTER GOVERNMENT LIFT SEVEN-YEAR BAN.
- Date: 13th November 2002
- Summary: HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM (RECENT) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. YOUNG BOXERS PRACTICING AT THE PHAN DINH PHUNG SPORT CLUB 2. BOXER WITH TRAINER NGUYEN MINH HOANG 2. SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) NGUYEN MINH HOANG, TRAINER AND FORMER BOXER, SAYING: "I seemed to start with boxing genetically, as it was already in my blood and it was transferred from my father. I was taken to watch boxing matches when I was four years old and my father also taught me how to fight, some tricks of the art of fighting. I had also been taught by many other boxing masters, my father's friends when I was a child." 3. BOXER TRAN QUOC TRUNG TRAINING 4. SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) BOXER TRUONG QUANG TUAN SAYING: "Everybody has their own hobby. I've also played other sports but when I came to boxing, I liked it very much. I've been boxing for more than 10 years, even when it was temporarily stopped I was still practicing. Since it was a hobby, I could not give up." 5. BOXERS AT MEDICAL CENTRE FOR FINAL HEALTH CHECK 6. BOXER WEIGHS IN 7. SIGN IN VIETNAMESE, READING: "HO CHI MINH CITY'S FIRST BOXING CHAMPIONSHIP - 2002" 8. AUDIENCE ARRIVING AT ARENA 9. BOXER PUTTING GLOVES ON 10. BOXERS WAITING FOR THEIR MATCH TO START 11. BELL RINGS TO START FIGHT 12. VARIOUS OF FIGHT, TRUONG QUANG TUAN IN RED 13. TRUONG QUANG TUAN WINS FIGHT 14. SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese), AN AUDIENCE MEMBER SAYING: "Today's matches are very exciting and very interesting." 15. ANOTHER FIGHT STARTING, DO VU HUY IN RED 16. DO VU HUY WINS FIGHT 17. CROWD 18. SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) BOXER DO VU HUY SAYING: "I'm very happy because after stopping for several years I can box again, today I'm lucky to gain a golden medal in this tournament." 19. WIDE SHOT OF BOXING RING Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 28th November 2002 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM
- Country: Vietnam
- Reuters ID: LVA232O5ITMHT88AVJV5O8CF7FT5
- Story Text: Boxing has made a comeback in Vietnam, after
authorities lifted a seven-year ban on the sport which they
once considered "too dangerous."
Communist-ruled Vietnam banished boxing amid concerns
that it was too dangerous and violent. Some sports analysts
say the ban was probably also related to suspected underworld
connections to several well-known Vietnamese boxers.
The reason for the change of heart is not clear, but
earlier this year boxing authorities were told the sport would
be permitted once more.
But in one of the biggest sport clubs in Ho Chi Minh City,
boxing never took a break.
The club itself has no facilities for boxers to practice
but they could train privately with martial arts masters.
Fifty-six-year-old former boxer Nguyen Minh Hoang (pron -
ngooyen meeng wang) became a boxing trainer and referee. His
father was a well-known boxer in South Vietnam and Indochina
during the French colonial era.
"I seemed to start with boxing genetically, as it was
already in my blood and it was transferred from my father. I
was taken to watch boxing matches when I was four years old
and my father also taught me how to fight, some tricks of the
art of fighting. I had also been taught by many other boxing
masters, my father's friends when I was a child," Hoang said.
Boxing's official comeback in Vietnam began with a
four-day tournament which drew some 40 fighters in seven
weight categories, far fewer than the number of participants
in similar tournaments prior to the ban.
But these are the hardcore boxers, who kept practicing
even during the dark days of the ban on their sport.
"Everybody has their own hobby. I've also played other
sports but when I came to boxing, I liked it very much. I've
been boxing for more than 10 years, even when it was
temporarily stopped I was still practicing. Since it was a
hobby, I could not give up," Truong Quoc Tuan (pron - choong
kwok twan), a 30-year-old boxer said.
Boxing in Vietnam traces its roots to the time when the
country was a French colony. At that time there were famous
boxers throughout Vietnam, mainly in the big cities like
Hanoi, Hue and Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).
During the Vietnam War, boxers could only fight in the
south because of the bombing operations in the north.
Boxing resumed in 1975 after the war ended, but it was
banned in 1995.
Prior to the ban, Vietnam won several boxing medals in the
Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games).
During the four-day tournament, thousands of people came
to the District One's Sports Hall to see boxing for the first
time. They were not disappointed.
"Today's matches are very exciting and very interesting,"
one fan said.
One of the winners was Do Vu Huy, who started boxing in
1992, just three years before the ban.
Like many of the boxers in Vietnam, he continued to
practice underground.
"I'm very happy because after stopping for several years I
can box again, today I'm lucky to gain a golden medal in this
tournament," said 28-year-old Huy.
Despite the lack of proper facilities, young boxers in
Vietnam are eager to work hard and learn more to improve their
skills.
They are looking forward to taking part in a national
championship which will take place in the capital city Hanoi
in December.
Vietnam will host the 22nd Southeast Asian Games in 2003.
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