Vietnam Sepak Takraw sacrificed a final match to win the gold medal

cầu mây - Ảnh 1. — Vietnam women's sepak takraw team with the championship in the 4v4 event at the 2025 World Championship - Photo: NVCC

On the afternoon of July 27, the Vietnamese women's sepak takraw team excellently defeated strong opponents Thailand in the final of the 4v4 event of the 2025 Sepak Takraw World Championship. This victory helped the team win the championship for the third time in this tournament.

After the dramatic final match, coach of the Vietnamese women's sepak takraw team Tran Thi Vui had a quick interview with Tuoi Tre Online .

* Coach Tran Thi Vui, please share your feelings and the team's feelings after the victory against Thailand?

- This is the second time this year the team has beaten Thailand in the 4v4 final. We previously beat them at the World Cup in March in India.

This time, in front of 1,500 Thai spectators who came to watch live to cheer for the home team, the Vietnamese athletes were under quite a bit of pressure. But when they entered the competition, everyone showed determination and performed well.

We are very happy with this victory. It is even more special because on this day 3 years ago, Vietnam beat Thailand in this event to become the first world champion.

* How has the coaching staff prepared for this final match?

- Thailand is always a strong opponent, a powerhouse of Sepak Takraw. However, the Vietnamese athletes showed determination. Willpower was the biggest advantage in the final match.

The coaching staff also predicted some possible situations, such as pressure from the referee, the audience, etc. In terms of technical skills, we also sat together and carefully prepared the tactics.

In the match, everyone performed well as planned, handling situations accurately. The team made almost no mistakes, which opened up victory.

Before the competition, both the men's and women's teams of the Vietnamese sepak takraw team had lost all three final matches at the 2025 World Championship. Did that put pressure on the 4v4 women's team?

cầu mây - Ảnh 2. — Coach Tran Thi Vui celebrates victory over Thailand - Screenshot

Actually, we have considered this. Yesterday (July 26), the women's team competed in the 3-person team final. That is an event where Thailand is very strong, so the chance of the Vietnamese women's sepak takraw team winning is not high. Therefore, we proactively let the key athletes of the 4v4 event rest.

The coaching staff decided to sacrifice the 3-man team event because reaching the finals was already the goal. All focus and preparation was on today's match. The players had already determined their goals for the finals.

The 4v4 event has only been introduced recently, but the Vietnamese women's sepak takraw has already won the championship 3 times. Are we the strongest team in the world at the moment?

I don’t dare to say that my team is the strongest team in the world. This content is new but has its own appeal, for example, the backcourt serve is a very interesting factor. The difference in skill level between the teams is very small. If anyone makes a mistake, or is not mentally strong, they can lose.

For example, the 4v4 men's team had a surprise win over powerful Thailand in the semi-finals. However, in the final, we lost to Japan. So we can't say anything for sure.

But at least with the good results in recent times, the Vietnamese sepak takraw team can confidently aim for the next goals. At the end of this year, we still have the SEA Games arena.

Since the beginning of the year, the team has determined that we will have 3 encounters with Thailand and have won twice so far. Therefore, we are confident in aiming for another gold medal at the end of this year.

DUC KHUE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cau-may-viet-nam-hy-sinh-mot-tran-chung-ket-de-gianh-huy-chuong-vang-20250727200455879.htm