VietNamNet Bridge – Female fencer Nguyen Thi Le Dung, who won six gold medals at the 22nd, 23rd and 24th SEA Games, is determined to defend her top position at the upcoming 26th SEA Games.
Dung, 26, and her teammates are practicing very hard at the Hanoi Elite Athlete Training Center.

By this November, Dung will commemorate her 10th year with fencing. Ten years ago, the 16-year-old girl in Soc Son district, Hanoi, knew nothing about fencing but she was very eager to participating in the recruitment of the Hanoi Department of Sports and Physical Training, together with her elder sister, Hoai Thu.

With long legs and wide arms length, the two sisters were chosen by coaches of the Hanoi fencing team. At the beginning, their parents did not allow both daughters to join the fencing team. Dung and Thu had to ask for their relatives to convene their parents. Finally, they were allowed to become fencers.

After two weeks of testing, the two sisters were officials admitted to Hanoi’s fencing team. Dung initially practiced epee but half of a year later, she practiced sabre with Chinese experts.

At the 22nd SEA Games, held in Vietnam in 2003, Vietnam won three gold medals for sabre. Dung won two gold medals for individual and group sabre. At the 23rd SEA Games in the Philippines in 2005 and 24th SEA Games in Thailand in 2007, Dung won four gold medals. The 25th SEA Games in Laos did not have sabre.

The fencer also won a bronze medal at the Asian Fencing Championships and the gold medal at the Asian Youth Fencing Championships. She has been the top sabre fencer in Vietnam for many years.

Dung said that her biggest rivals at the 26th SEA Games will be Thai and Indonesian fencers.

So far this year, Dung attended two drilling courses in China and participated in two international competitions. She ranked 16th at the World Fencing Championship 2011 in Italy last October.

At the 26th SEA Games, Vietnamese fencers will compete at all 12 categories.

PV