International Women's Day, March 8, 2013
The morning sky was clear and blue, with lively activity filling the schoolyard. Our lovely, petite female students, the brave pioneers representing our department in this year’s sports festival, were getting ready for a tug-of-war match predicted to be tough.
Cheers filled the air! "Go Physics Faculty! Victory for Physics!"
Despite the enthusiastic encouragement, we couldn’t break Newton's First Law: "A smaller mass results in less inertia."
0 – 2!!! Our first defeat on opening day!
April Fool's Day, 2013
Defending champion Pham Xuan Hien prepared to protect his title in the swimming race. At the referee's whistle, Hien dashed off like an otter… tension… anticipation… and triumph… Victory!!! The first gold medal for the Physics Faculty!
Almost close to the SEA Games record (it’s April Fool's Day, after all!)
According to Mr. Tao’s physics analysis, Hien’s slender build meant water resistance was negligible. Totally logical!
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Defeats kept coming!
The men's football team lost the first match to the Equipment Management Office with a score of 2 – 3!
Badminton ended in a total defeat against stronger opponents!
In table tennis, despite fielding almost ten athletes and having last year’s bronze medalist (Mr. Hien), we faced a crushing defeat!
Chess and Xiangqi ended without any wins, just like every year!
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The men's football team had a dream start, taking an early lead against the Math-IT Faculty. But a lapse in concentration allowed them to turn the game around. Fortunately, forward, captain and head coach Mr. Tao shined in the last moments to equalize.
2 – 2! Now we hope for a miracle: the Math team must lose to the Equipment Management Office, and we must beat SeLab by at least 9 goals.
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A small victory on the tennis court! Mr. Vo Hong Hai won bronze in men's doubles!
Newton was wrong! Heaviness can still be light on its feet!
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The Math Faculty lost to the Equipment Management Office, 3 – 4! We still have a chance!
A big loss for our team, as our two veteran forwards (Mr. Khanh and Mr. Tao) and our number one goalkeeper (Mr. Triet) couldn’t participate. The team quickly recruited forward Huynh Thanh Nhan!
The opponents defended fiercely, but midway through the first half, we managed to open the score, worry written on everyone’s faces.
Halftime! 4 – 0! Hope returns!
Our opponents began to tire… six… seven… eight… nine… and… ten!!! An indescribable joy!
Two more goals in the last minutes! Forward Nhan was brought onto the field and nearly scored!
12 – 0! We made it to the semifinals in a miraculous fashion! See you, IT Faculty!
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The women's football team suffered consecutive losses against stronger teams, including the champions (Biology Faculty). In recent years, we’ve “transferred” too many talented players abroad, and our youth training efforts have yet to yield results. Watch out—we’re becoming like Arsenal!!!
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Another stellar performance by the Physics Faculty! The shortest player in the match (Mr. Lang) opened the score with a header (though short, he made everyone look up) … Physics’ very own Messi!
Khe continued to score regularly, competing for the top scorer title. Tuan, along with the player from France (Mr. Thanh), formed a solid wall in front of the goal.
3 – 0! It’s been a long time since we reached the finals!
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The final match!
Mr. Thanh is defending his doctoral thesis! Mr. Tao is on the review committee! We’re preparing to face a team rated far stronger and who defeated us in the opening match (the Equipment Management Office). The odds were stacked against us!
Mr. Tao appointed assistant coach Chau … Tan as interim manager for this game. Vice-Dean Huynh Van Tuan was in attendance. The entire team was determined to win!
The match was intense from the start! A surprise… 1 – 0 for the Physics Faculty!
Like a wounded tiger, the opponents attacked ferociously, but we held firm!
2 – 0! The crowd was in disbelief!
3 – 0! The opposition began to unravel and lose their composure!
4 – 0! Khe scored a hat-trick! On Saturday, the Anti-Doping Committee was out on a retreat! Lucky for us!!!
Halftime ended!
The Equipment Management Office restructured and launched an early attack in the second half! Our defense held strong!
A chaotic play! 1 – 4!
The oldest forward in the tournament was sent in!
2 – 4! Tuan’s mistake! The opponents gained momentum!
A counterattack play, and Mr. Khanh pressed hard! A red card for their goalkeeper for handling the ball outside the penalty area! We had a man advantage! Feeling secure!
The final whistle blew! An explosion of joy! The championship had been long-awaited.
Forward vice-captain and coach (Mr. Khanh) was awarded an immediate bonus of 500,000 VND.
Everyone was invited to one of Saigon's finest restaurants, 241, to celebrate the championship and our new Ph.D. in the Faculty of Physics - Engineering Physics.
May 17, 2013
The final day of the sports festival.
Cross-country! The first good news arrived at 6:15 a.m. when Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung outpaced numerous formidable opponents to place third. We now had two golds and two bronzes.
Men’s tug-of-war! We brought in an athlete from the land of sumo (Mr. Hai), an athlete from the nation of steel, Germany (Mr. Chuong), and three young athletes recently trained in Hungary (Bao, Khai, and Lam). The goal was to surpass last year’s result (eliminated in the first round!!!).
The first bit of luck came from Ms. Hanh Thu’s draw, giving us a bye in round one. Goal accomplished!
Round 2 was smooth sailing! The opponents were too weak!
In round 3, we faced an old rival (the Faculty of Materials Science)! We got lucky again, choosing the dry side of the field for two of the three rounds. The match was tense. 2 – 1 for the Faculty Physics! Last year's defeat was avenged!
Round 4, is another easy match! The first time in the finals for the Faculty Physics!
Finals! We were lucky again, choosing the dry side of the field against the Administration Office! The first two rounds were intense, with cheers from many supporters.
After two rounds, the score remained tied at 1 – 1!
The Administration Office protested, requesting a venue change, fearing the Faculty Physics would gain an advantage in the last round. With sportsmanship in mind, we agreed!
The decisive round! The athletes put all their energy into the match… 10s… 20s… we gained the upper hand, and the opponents were visibly exhausted… at the 31-second mark… the rope crossed the line! The Faculty Physics crowned champions once again in team sports!
RESULTS
3 gold medals, 0 silver, and 2 bronze (with the football gold given a multiplier of 3, tug-of-war a multiplier of 2).
We placed fourth overall (just one bronze medal short of third).
Thus, the Faculty of Physics - Engineering Physics had a successful sports festival (surpassing the previous festival’s results of 1 gold and 2 bronze). We claimed two of the most anticipated team golds but still had few achievements in individual events.
Author: Dang Hoai Trung