Mr. Truong Ngoc De was awarded the 9th degree black belt in taekwondo.

President of the Vietnam Taekwondo Federation (VTF) Truong Ngoc De has been awarded the 9th degree black belt. He is the first president of the Federation in the world to receive this honor.

President of the Vietnam Taekwondo Federation Truong Ngoc De (left) received the 9th degree black belt degree - Photo: NVCC

Last weekend, the World Taekwondo Academy (Kukkiwon) officially awarded the 9th degree black belt to Mr. Truong Ngoc De - President of the Vietnam Taekwondo Federation (VTF).

Not counting the cradle of Korean martial arts, this is the first taekwondo president in the world to receive this honor. With the contributions of Mr. Truong Ngoc De to the Vietnamese taekwondo movement in particular and the world in general, this is completely worthy.

Mr. Truong Ngoc De is currently the Chairman of VTF for the 6th term (2022-2026). This is the 3rd consecutive time he has been the Chairman of VTF after the 4th term (2013-2017) and the 5th term (2017-2021).

He was the head coach of the Vietnamese taekwondo team, creating monuments of the Vietnamese taekwondo village such as Tran Hieu Ngan, Tran Quang Ha, Ho Nhat Thong...,

Most notably, he led martial artist Tran Hieu Ngan to win a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, an achievement that Vietnamese taekwondo has yet to achieve again.

In recent times, Vietnamese taekwondo has even declined quite a bit, and has twice failed to qualify for the Rio 2016 and Paris 2024 Olympics.

Therefore, in his role as VTF president, Mr. Truong Ngoc De has recently carried out a radical reform to help Vietnamese taekwondo return to its golden age. This includes contacting and inviting Iranian experts to train the men's team.

At the 33rd SEA Games, Vietnam's taekwondo goal is to win 3-4 gold medals. Of which, sparring wins 1-2 gold medals.

NGUYEN KHOI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ong-truong-ngoc-de-duoc-phong-9-dang-huyen-dai-taekwondo-20251208124113886.htm