Responsibility of the captain
Dang Thi Hong talked before going to Indonesia to participate in the 2025 U21 World Youth Championship: "This is the first time I have participated in a world-class large playground for young athletes. I have prepared many things professionally and above all, I am determined to play to the best of my ability. I myself have not had to perfect the techniques and try to improve more after each exercise. I am honored to be trusted by my teammates to be the captain and will fulfill my responsibility in this competition.
Head coach Nguyen Trong Linh assessed Dang Thi Hong as a player with leadership qualities, so this striker took the responsibility of captain of the Vietnam U21 Youth Women's Volleyball Team as appropriate.
Dang Thi Hong was chosen as the captain of the VTV Cup 2025 International Women's Volleyball Tournament (July 2025). The above tournament is an opportunity for coach Nguyen Trong Linh to experiment with the squad to find the best players to participate in the world youth tournament.
On the field in Vinh Phuc (Phu Tho) of the VTV Cup 2025, Dang Thi Hong played in matches of the Vietnam U21 Youth Women's Volleyball Team. Dang Thi Hong's performance is highly appreciated for her expertise, but the coaching staff highly appreciated the contribution of this main striker as the role of a spiritual support for her teammates at important times.
We were present at the National High-level Athletes' Training Center (Hanoi) to record the final training session of the Vietnam U21 Women's Volleyball Team. Although there is still a day left to prepare for the 2025 U21 World Youth Championship, all young Vietnamese players still practice non-stop.
At the end of the training session, Dang Thi Hong was the one who stayed the longest to do more relaxation exercises to maintain her health instead of leaving the practice house early. In the professional episode, Dang Thi Hong was not afraid of all the large amounts of movement of the lesson plan given by the coaching staff. However, in front of the press, the captain of the Vietnam U21 Youth Women's Volleyball Team is very reserved.
She said: "I don't know what to say, but I just feel that being the captain means I have to be an example to everyone. We are a united team, if each player stays together, the whole team will be strong and play effectively on the field. As captain, I also understand my responsibility in situations that may arise.
Each tournament brings an experience
Comparing her memories with volleyball, Dang Thi Hong told her the things she will always remember. The main striker recalled that if he had not been determined to convince his family to leave the countryside in Dao village in Bang Thanh commune (old Bac Kan), now Bang Thanh ward (Thai Nguyen) to go to Thai Nguyen city to practice sports (in 2021), there would not be a volleyball player Dang Thi Hong.
At that time, Dang Thi Hong was 15 years old and applied to study at Thai Nguyen Province Sports Talent High School. For the first time, Dang Thi Hong was not accepted by the school's scouts to practice volleyball because it was too low. The second time, the girl was chosen to practice martial arts, but Dang Thi Hong's only passion was volleyball, so she convinced the coaches to change.
I still remember at first that when I was playing volleyball, I had to try harder than my peers to affirm my ability. I spend almost all my time practicing basic techniques and learning from teachers how to get the best momentum, Dang Thi Hong shared.
Dang Thi Hong will officially compete with the Thai Nguyen Women's Volleyball Team in the national A-class tournament. This player has been continuously mentioned for her achievements when competing in the National Youth Volleyball Tournament and the National U23 Volleyball Tournament. However, Dang Thi Hong believes that the turning point to affirm her expertise is when renting to Kinh Bac Bac Ninh, LPBank Ninh Binh and Vietinbank teams at the National Volleyball Championship in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
She believes that the matches at the National Championship playground are the most useful professional lessons for her to learn and accumulate experience. Dang Thi Hong said that each coach at each team helps her improve a lot of her courage on the field and especially her technique to play the most effective main striker position in all situations.
Last year, Dang Thi Hong was wearing the shirt of the Vietnam U20 Women's Volleyball Team for the first time to participate in the Asian U20 Youth Women's Championship in China. This main striker with a height of 1m70 said that the large arena made him nervous but had accumulated a lot of experience.
Dang Thi Hong recalled: In the first matches, I was nervous so I did not achieve accuracy in the attacks. After that, I was encouraged to be more confident and play better. When the whole team knew about winning a place in the 2025 World Youth Championship from their 5th place at the U20 Asian Youth Women's Championship, we were all overwhelmed with emotion."
Dream of the opportunity to participate in the 33rd SEA Games
This year, Dang Thi Hong was focused by head coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet on the list of 20 players of the Vietnam Women's Volleyball Team. However, this striker has been given training and competition conditions for the Vietnam U21 Women's Volleyball Team. When asked if Dang Thi Hong will be determined to find a chance to compete in the 33rd SEA Games, the athlete said: "This is one of my expectations. However, the team has good professional players and I try my best through each international mission to participate.
The Vietnam women's volleyball team has not yet determined 14 official players to participate in the 33rd SEA Games. Coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet still has enough time to review the force to find suitable faces in his squad. The person who understands Dang Thi Hong's expertise is coach Kiet. Mr. Kiet is currently the head coach of the VietinBank women's team and the head coach of the Vietnam Women's Volleyball team. Since the beginning of 2025, Dang Thi Hong has signed a lease contract for the VietinBank Women's Team to participate in the 2025 National Volleyball Championship.
"We highly appreciate Dang Thi Hong for her professional awareness and ability to concentrate while competing. A main striker who wants to be effective must do this well. Dang Thi Hong's defensive technique is improving and above all, the players are effective in hitting the ball in attack," said Mr. Nguyen Trong Linh, head coach of the Vietnam U21 Youth Women's Team.
In recent years, the Vietnam Women's Volleyball Team has introduced many young strikers and then become famous in terms of expertise such as: Pham Thi Yen, Ha Ngoc Diem, Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, Vi Thi Nhu Quynh... Dang Thi Hong is considered to have the qualities to be a future leader of Vietnam Women's Volleyball and if she is given a place to participate in the 33rd SEA Games, she will certainly be able to be a player who solves difficult situations and wins important points for the team.
