Wrestlers gear up for world's biggest stage

Contender: Top Vietnamese wrestler Nguyen Thi Lua (front) is preparing to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics. — VNA/VNS Photo Ngoc Truong

HA NOI — Top Vietnamese wrestler Nguyen Thi Lua will tussle with Asian counterparts at the 2012 Olympic-Asian Wrestling Qualification event in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from March 28 to April 1.

Lua, 20, one of Viet Nam's best hopes, is set to compete against North Korea's So Sim-hyang and rivals from Mongolia, India and South Korea in the women's 48kg freestyle category, of which the top two athletes will qualify for London.

Lua and Asian Games defending champion Sim-hyang will be the top two contenders in the lightweight division.

Last year, Lua won her country's first Guangzhou Asian Games wrestling medal in 28 years. She was subsequently voted as one of the top 10 Vietnamese sport stars.

Meanwhile, her teammates Tran Thi Dieu Ninh and Duong Thi Lan, all inexperienced on international level, will compete in the 55kg and 63kg weight categories.

"It's a big challenge for me, but I'll do my best to qualify for the London Olympics," she confirmed.

"I'm ready to face tough rivals during qualification following my failure in the World Championships in September," she added.

Nguyen The Long, head of the wrestling section at the National Sports Administration, said that Lua would be among Viet Nam's top contenders at the 2012 event.

"She is the hope of the women's team. We have provided her with the best conditions to qualify," Long added.

Vietnamese athletes will have additional opportunities to qualify for the London Games via tournaments in Taiyuan, Shanxi, China and Helsinki, Finland, in late April and May. — VNS

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