Vietnamese gymnastics 'hot boy' shines in world arena

In the qualifying round of the pommel horse event, the athlete from Ho Chi Minh City performed a test that was considered perfect, achieving the highest score in the qualifying round (14,850 points), thereby winning a ticket to the final. Maintaining a good competitive state, Xuan Thien continued to conquer the judges and fans in the final. With 14,266 points, the "hot boy" of the Vietnamese gymnastics team surpassed a series of strong opponents to stand on the highest podium.

Dang Ngoc Xuan Thien won the gold medal at the World Gymnastics Cup in the pommel horse event.

PHOTO: HA PHUONG

Having won gold medals at two consecutive SEA Games 31 (2022) and 32 (2023), this is the first time Xuan Thien has touched the World Gymnastics Cup gold medal. Since the double world gold medals of Le Thanh Tung (vault event) and Dinh Phuong Thanh (parallel bars event) in 2018, the Vietnamese Gymnastics team has had another champion. With a sport that requires hard training from a young age like Gymnastics, to achieve the success he has today, Xuan Thien had to go through nearly 17 years of hard training, since he was 6 years old. Those were 17 years that Xuan Thien practiced his specialty horse vault over and over again before exploding at the Varna (Bulgaria) arena.

Sharing about his historic gold medal, Xuan Thien modestly said: "I still have many mistakes that need to be improved. However, I am proud of what I have achieved after years of continuous efforts. Thank you everyone for always being by my side and supporting me throughout the past time." Xuan Thien also shared that every time he steps into a big arena, his goal is to overcome himself, trying to complete the test at a high level of difficulty to conquer and contribute.

Dang Ngoc Xuan Thien's gold medal winning performance

Coach Truong Minh Sang said that the Vietnamese Gymnastics team will participate in the FIG World Challenge Cup 2025 in Varna (Bulgaria) with 5 athletes: Dang Ngoc Xuan Thien, Nguyen Van Khanh Phong, Dinh Phuong Thanh, Trinh Hai Khang, Do Nam Anh. These are athletes who are in good form and winning 4/5 tickets to the final reflects this. "To prepare for this world tournament, the members of the Vietnamese Gymnastics team have been practicing continuously, without rest, even on holidays. Each athlete has shown determination and desire to conquer. Dang Ngoc Xuan Thien's gold medal in the pommel horse event and Nguyen Van Khanh Phong's silver medal in the hoop event are worthy achievements for the efforts they have put in," affirmed coach Truong Minh Sang.

After this world championship, the Vietnamese gymnastics team will continue to train to prepare for the Asian Gymnastics Championship taking place in Korea next June. In October, the Vietnamese gymnastics team will continue to participate in the world championship in Indonesia. This is the tournament that Khanh Phong won a ticket to thanks to winning the Asian silver medal in 2024. Next, in December, the "hot boys" of the Vietnamese gymnastics team will conquer the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand. The success achieved at this world championship is a great motivation for the Vietnamese gymnastics players to confidently conquer high achievements in major international tournaments.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hot-boy-the-duc-dung-cu-viet-nam-toa-sang-o-dau-truong-the-gioi-185250511212314705.htm