The man who turned Tanh Linh into Lam Dong's Taekwondo "gold mine"

Building a grassroots movement

The man behind the success is Nguyen Quoc Hung, born in 1968, a fifth-degree Taekwondo black belt who now lives and works in Tanh Linh Commune.

Hung's family, originally from Quang Nam, moved to Tanh Linh in 1978. His father, Nguyen Doan, a fourth-degree Taekwondo black belt, established the family's first martial arts school in the locality. Hung began training under his father from an early age.

After working in the forestry sector for many years, Hung returned to help run the school when his father became ill. In 1999, he decided to leave his job entirely to take over and develop the family martial arts school.

Recognising strong demand for martial arts training among local young people, Hung gradually expanded training centres from the central area to most communes in the former Tanh Linh District. He also built a network of coaches by training his own students to become instructors.

Within just a few years, Taekwondo had grown into a thriving grassroots movement in the area, with more than 3,000 students training regularly.

Building on the strong grassroots movement, Nguyen Quoc Hung, as head of the Tanh Linh Taekwondo Club, identified and trained promising athletes to compete at provincial tournaments. For many consecutive years, athletes from Tanh Linh won a large share of the medals at the former Binh Thuan Province's Taekwondo championships.

Many were subsequently selected for the provincial team, where they progressed to national competitions before gradually making their mark on the international stage.

Hung joined the coaching staff of the former Binh Thuan Taekwondo team in 1997 and became the provincial team's head coach in 2005. He currently serves as head coach of Lam Dong's Taekwondo team, Vice President of the Lam Dong Taekwondo Federation, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Taekwondo Federation.

A coach's lifelong dedication

Hung's greatest legacy lies in nurturing generations of elite athletes who have carried the name of Tanh Linh to competitions across Southeast Asia, Asia and the world.

Among the most prominent is Nguyen Thi Le Kim, a multiple gold medalist at the world and Asian championships and the SEA Games. In recognition of her achievements, she has been awarded the Labour Order three times by the State President.

Other outstanding athletes include Nguyen Thi Kim Ha, a world and Asian junior champion and two-time SEA Games gold medallist; Tran Phuong Nhung, a world champion in poomsae; and Huynh Thi Hoang Tham, a world and Asian junior champion.

In kyorugi, Nguyen Truong Chinh has won gold at the National Sports Games and the Southeast Asian Taekwondo Championships, while Tran Ho Nhan Van, now a member of the national team, is preparing for the Asian Games (ASIAD).

From a mountainous locality, Tanh Linh has emerged as a breeding ground for athletes competing at the international level. According to martial arts instructor Nguyen Quoc Hung, the success stems from his students' perseverance and rigorous training, combined with targeted investment from the sports sector and the dedication of their coaches.

"If you're going to do something, you have to do it well. I have used my own money to attend training courses and learn new competition techniques from domestic and international organisations so that I could pass that knowledge on to my students," Hung said.

"The State's targeted investment in Taekwondo has also given many children from this disadvantaged area greater motivation to strive for success. We have now built a pipeline of talent, with younger athletes following in the footsteps of those before them and continuing to move forward."

It is perhaps this dedication that has laid the foundation for Tanh Linh's thriving Taekwondo movement. Despite its challenging conditions, the mountainous locality has consistently produced athletes who have reached the podium at regional, continental and world competitions.