Memories from a small house on Hang Chuoi street…
Nguyet Anh said that her father trained her to become a professional table tennis player, but later she had an unstable heart problem so she did not follow her father's career. However, the way her father lived, worked, and devoted himself to the country's sports always made her admire "a handsome, warm man" who worked tirelessly for his passion without calculation.
Nguyet Anh said that she and her family had a peaceful childhood in Hanoi on Hang Chuoi Street in the years 1979 - 1980. Her father was a handsome man who loved table tennis, her mother was also a beauty of Hanoi. Her father was a talented person, who often decorated the house. On Tet, he bought a large peach blossom branch and hung up greeting cards from friends.
In 1986, her father transferred to work in Ho Chi Minh City and took his little daughter with him. At that time, her mother remained in Hanoi with her younger brother because she could not find a job there. The house full of childhood memories on Hang Chuoi Street also had to be sold. In the early days, the father and daughter in the warm and sunny Southern land were full of confusion, many difficulties, but still full of love and hope. During the years here, Mr. Truc contributed a lot to table tennis in Ho Chi Minh City and witnessed the growth of his daughter.
“I came to Saigon with my father half a year before, then my mother and younger brother came, so my father and I were close from then until after he passed away. We were always like close friends. My father could tell me a lot of things about himself, even when he was sad or unhappy about something, I was the one who knew it all, and vice versa, I often confided in him about my work plans or my private love life. My father always listened patiently and always gave me advice or simply absolute support for the dreams of his unique daughter,” Nguyet Anh said.
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To the new journey in the southern city
Hanoi - the peaceful and happy city of her childhood has left behind Nguyet Anh and her family. The warm and sunny South awaits the whole family on a new journey. It can be said that Nguyet Anh's family has lived through two major cities of the country and witnessed her father's tireless journey with Vietnamese table tennis. The initial difficulties and her father's strong mark in his career.
“He is always concerned with table tennis, day after day. Talking about table tennis, he can talk all day because he is an optimistic person. He lives sincerely, always helps others and is willing to sacrifice everything for the development of table tennis. I have witnessed, fought side by side and worked hard with him to take care of many Golden Racket Awards, so I can understand the love he has for this sport,” MC Nguyet Anh expressed when asked about her father who inspired her in life and her passion for table tennis.
Nguyet Anh said that in the first years in Saigon, he was the head coach and directly taught extra table tennis after hours to me and many athletes of the reserve gifted team of Ho Chi Minh City.
“In the first years of coming to Saigon, the family had many difficulties, but my father never let the situation affect his work and never complained or asked for help from anyone. He had his own pride that did not allow him to do anything different from what he believed in. My father was an exemplary and honest party member, dedicated and selflessly working with an endless passion for the common goal of the community,” said Mr. Truc’s beloved daughter.
Nguyet Anh said that every morning, father and daughter walked from Ham Nghi, the newly bought house in Saigon to Hoa Lu yard to go to work. The house did not have any luxurious furniture, located on the 3rd floor. At that time, wherever her father went, she followed, he also taught her in the early days of primary school. “At that time, my father was the head coach and Head of the Department for the Ho Chi Minh City Table Tennis Team and his students were Nhan Vi Quan, Tran Tuan Anh, Dao Le Hoa, Tran Thien Tam... At that time, he was very handsome, healthy, stylish and full of energy for work. And because of his excitement for new things, he really forgot the difficulties he was still facing every day in a foreign land.
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How can I forget the days in a house without furniture, my father clumsily finished cooking sticky rice but had nothing to eat with it and I, a 5 or 6 year old child, innocently ran to the house of a kind neighbor to ask for some salt to eat with sticky rice. Or the days when both father and son walked to work and only dared to buy a small package of sticky rice to eat together because my father had no money left in his pocket, he only bought food to compensate me when I received my salary at vocational school later", she recalled the unforgettable memories.
Sharing father and daughter
Nguyet Anh said that the relationship between her and her father was so close and loving that during her high school years, her father bought most of the clothes she wore from his business trips. Later, when she grew up, she went with her father to ask for sponsorship for the Golden Racket Tournament. In one tournament, Mr. Truc was the leader and contributed a lot of effort.
“I remember around 2006, 2007, I was the one who stood side by side with my father to ask for the main sponsorship for the tournament when almost many people had turned their backs on this international tournament. Many people had left and given up their role in the tournament, but my father was still passionate and he was also the co-founder and attached to the Golden Racket Award until the last days of his life,” Nguyet Anh said.
After Mr. Truc retired, the Union still invited him to stay and work as an experienced expert. “Every day and at noon, he would come home to have lunch with his family, then ride his motorbike to District 7 to continue working. My father did not like to drive a car because he liked the initiative and convenience,” according to Nguyet Anh.
Although age and illness began to creep in on him, his aspirations and contributions to city table tennis remained the same as when he was young. In 2016, he suffered from a serious illness. “I don’t know why at that time both father and son were calm. I don’t know what I was thinking, but my father said: ‘I knew it would be cancer.’ He spoke gently, without any worry, as he always did when he was sick,” Nguyet Anh shared.
She said that when her father was seriously ill until his death, his spirit was very calm until his last moments, as if he “didn’t want to bother anyone”, including his wife and children. Every time she asked him if he was tired, he replied: “I feel comfortable”.
“I think one of the blessings of my life is that both my parents are close friends, we can talk to each other about many issues, even the most sensitive ones,” Nguyet Anh said emotionally.
Before moving to Ho Chi Minh City to work in 1986 as a Head of Department, Vice President and General Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Table Tennis Federation, Mr. Nguyen Trong Truc was the Head Coach of the Vietnam Table Tennis Team, holding the role of Vice President of the Vietnam Table Tennis Federation. Many generations of talented athletes of the Northern and Southern table tennis were trained, led and given development opportunities by Mr. Truc, who made a name for themselves in the international arena, such as: Nguyen Ngoc Phan, Tran Van Quynh, Nguyen Dinh Phien, Nguyen Thi Mai, Do Thuy Nga, Ha Tuyet Lan, Do Thi Thuy... in the 1970s of the last century. Mr. Truc is also a historical witness of many special milestones in the history of the development of Vietnamese table tennis, such as the first National Championship after the country was completely unified between Northern players such as Hoang The Vinh, Nguyen Dinh Phien, Tran Van Quynh, Nguyen Ngoc Phan, Nguyen Duc Long... with the "great master" of the South, Vuong Chinh Hoc... The Golden Racket International Table Tennis Tournament was born in the mid-1980s. Mr. Nguyen Trong Truc is one of the founders of the tournament.
Source: https://baophapluat.vn/nguoi-cha-choi-bong-ban-trong-ky-uc-cua-con-gai-post551714.html
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