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Vietnam may lose swimming prodigy to US

Xinhua, July 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

The family of 14-year-old swimmer Nguyen Diep Phuong Tram, a Southeast Asian record holder, has insisted on moving to the U.S. for her continuous studying despite local authorities' demand for compensation to her training costs, local newspaper Thanh Nien (Young People) News reported Tuesday.

The family is willing to pay suitable compensation for the termination of her contract with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports, said Tram's father Nguyen Minh Tri.

Holding two Southeast Asian records and three national records, Tram has been considered a shining star besides 19-year-old Nguyen Thi Anh Vien, who claimed 8 gold medals and broke 8 records at the 28th Southeast Asian Games in Singapore last month.

Disputes broke out recently between the city's sport authorities and Tram's family, after the 8th grader planned to move to the U.S. for continuous studying.

The city's sports department proposed two options for the termination of her contract. The first plan requires Tram no compensation but she will have to commit to not playing for any other team until June 2019 - the current contract's validity.

In the second option, Tram is free for playing for any team but she will have to pay for training costs of 961 million Vietnamese dong (44,000 U.S. dollars) since 2010.

Tram's parents agreed to compensate, however, only for relevant costs under a contract signed on July 1, 2014. Endit