16-year-old 'phenomenon' replaces Bich Tuyen and Thanh Thuy

Preparing to enter the 33rd SEA Games campaign in Thailand, Coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet finalized the list of 14 athletes for the Vietnamese women's volleyball team.

In this list, Bui Thi Anh Thao is a face that attracts special attention when she is only 16 years old. Anh Thao and Ngoc Hoa are the two youngest athletes in the history of the Vietnamese women's volleyball team at the SEA Games.

Despite her young age, Anh Thao possesses a record of achievements that any senior player would dream of. In 2025 alone, she and Ninh Binh Club won the Hoa Lu Cup and were runners-up in the National Championship. After playing for Hanoi Club, the striker born in 2009 won the A-League championship with the Capital team, winning a ticket to play in the 2026 National Championship.

anh thao.jpg — Anh Thao is only 16 years old and has participated in the SEA Games.

At the national team level, Anh Thao is a mainstay of the Vietnam U21 team participating in the 2025 U21 World Cup, before participating in the SEA Games for the first time in the national team jersey.

Going back to the past, 2024 marked a big turning point in Anh Thao's career when she first played for Hanoi Club in the National Volleyball Championship. At that time, although still very young, Anh Thao became the number 1 scorer for the Capital representative.

Not stopping there, Anh Thao was called up to the Vietnam U20 women's volleyball team. At the VTV9 Binh Dien Cup, she made a strong impression on experts, especially in the match against PFU Blue Cats, with 15 points scored.

At the 2024 U20 Asian Championship, Anh Thao and her teammates won 5th place, thereby earning a ticket to the 2025 U21 World Cup. This is a historic milestone for Vietnamese youth volleyball.

u21 football vietnam 7.jpg — Anh Thao has very powerful shots.

According to experts, although still very young, Anh Thao has shown a "tough" competitive mentality. The 16-year-old's playing style is very flexible, intelligent, with high jumps, serves, blocks and has good scoring efficiency. Anh Thao's limitations are of course her lack of experience, physical strength, and height (1m74) as well as her coordination with her seniors in the Vietnam women's volleyball team.

With her maturity and remarkable progress, Anh Thao is expected to be Thanh Thuy's replacement in the near future. In fact, "4T" has gone through 6 consecutive SEA Games, it is difficult to ensure peak performance in the next few years.

At this SEA Games, Coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet has a reason to include Anh Thao in the list of 14 official athletes. The strategist born in 1976 will use his student in suitable matches, helping the 16-year-old player gradually get used to and fully develop her strengths.

Vietnam Sports Delegation wears new uniforms to attend SEA Games 33

On November 29, Dong Luc Sports Group launched the Rise Beyond collection - the official outfit of the Vietnamese sports delegation at the 33rd SEA Games. This collection is based on the idea of a magical night sky, with fireworks, shining stars and passing meteors. That is the image symbolizing the journey of athletes: quiet, patient and exploding at the right time. Dong Luc representative, Ms. Le Vu Hong Ngoc said: "Our mission does not stop at creating quality competition outfits, but also conveying the spirit, aspiration and national pride to each athlete. The Rise Beyond collection will carry the message of breakthrough, perseverance and determination to conquer new heights of Vietnamese sports".