VietNamNet Bridge – In 2006, Vu Thi Nguyet Anh brought fame to Vietnam when she won the valuable gold medal for Vietnam at the Asian Games (Asiad) in Qatar. Now, the former Asiad champion is abandoned with injuries.

Five years ago, Nguyet Anh trounced her Malaysian rival Antony Vasantha, 6-1 to win the championship at Asiad. Four years later, at Asiad 2010 in China, she won the silver medal.

After over ten years pursuing the sports career and winning many medals at home and abroad, Nguyet Anh had to leave her profession under the rules of elite sports.

Devoting her entire youth to the country, Nguyet Anh does not claim anything. She only hopes to be relieved from her wounded knee.

Chief Coach Le Cong of the national karate team has several times asked the General Department of Sports and Physical Training’s assistance to deal with Nguyet Anh’s painful knee, but the agency has made vain promises.

The wound has maltreated the karate artist for years and she was brought to hospitals for examinations many times. Doctors said that she needs an operation but the General Department of Sports and Physical Training has not approved yet.

“I have tried to ask for an operation because I’m still a member of the national team. If I leave the team, perhaps I will never have the chance,” Nguyet Anh says.

Her coach is very worried for Nguyet Anh’s wound and he proposed the General Department of Sports and Physical Training to send her to Germany for surgery, but the proposal was ignored because the expenditure is huge.

Coach Le Cong then asked for an operation in Singapore, with the cost of $10,000-14,000, but the General Department of Sports and Physical Training has not answered.

Nguyet Anh and Le Cong want an overseas operation because Nguyet Anh was operated in Vietnam once and the result was very poor.

At present, they accept to live with the wound to practice for the upcoming Southeast Asian Games 2011.

Coach Le Cong temporarily uses Neijia and traditional medicines to treat the wound while Nguyet Anh tries to sustain the pain. Nguyet Anh only hopes that her knee will be operated before she leaves her career.

In fact, there are many Vietnamese athletes suffering from wounds like Nguyet Anh. However, only football players are treated carefully by their teams. The reason is limited budget of the sports sector. However, if athletes are treated like Nguyet Anh, nobody would want to become athletes.

PV