VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam will be hoping to revive their fortunes at this month's 16th Asian Games, even though the country's best wushu practitioners will be absent.

Beautiful faces and hard scarred hands of wushu women

Wushu sanshou champion Nguyen Thi Bich

Woman devoted her childhood to martial arts

Mistress of the long fist: Viet Nam's Duong Thuy Vy, whose speciality is the ‘long fist' event, will be the only Vietnamese female competing in wushu taolu at the Asian Games next week. (Photo: VNS)

The seven-member sanshou team have been in intensive training in China's Yuhan Province since September.

Nguyen Thi Bich, the 2008 world champion, will be competing in the women's 52kg category. Bich has dominated the national championship for many years. She triumphed at the 24th Southeast Asian Games in Thailand and the third Asian Indoor Games last year in Ha Noi.

Meanwhile, coach Nguyen Phuong Lan, said Bich's teammate Tan Thi Ly would definitely be attending the games.

Despite topping the sport nationally in the women's 60kg category, she has won little glory internationally.

"Sanshou fighters have progressed remarkably following their recent training in China. If they perform like they did in practice, they will win the ASIAD gold medal," said Bui Truong Giang, head of the Wushu Department at the National Sports Adminstration.

Despite their medal hopes, Viet Nam will be without Vu Tra My, Vu Thuy Linh, Nguyen Mai Phuong and Pham Hong Ngoc, all of whom are injured. Their absence will be a major blow to the team as they are among the best wushu practitioners in the country.

Host China has organised eight taolu events for both men and women, including changquan (long fist) – Viet Nam's Duong Thuy Vy's speciality.

Vy will be the only Vietnamese female competing in taolu.

On the men's side, world champion Pham Quoc Khanh, who won a gold medal at the 2007 world championship when he was aged just 17, is another medal hope.

Khanh will be competing in nanquan (South boxing) and nandao (South broad-sword).

Vietnamese performers' chief handicap is their lack of physical strength.

"Athletes will be unable to perform perfectly if they are not strong enough," Lan said.

She said the team had over the last month concentrated on building up their physical strength.

Khanh and Vy were in agreement with their coach. They both said they were happy with their technique but that they were worried they would not have enough energy to go the full minute.

Viet Nam will be sending five taolu artists to the games this year.

"With five participants. I believe we will get a medal but I am not sure whether it will be the gold," Giang said.

In previous ASIADs, Viet Nam's best result was two silver medals.

In Guangzhou, wushu will take place from November 13-17. There will be 15 sets of medals awarded.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News