Martial arts athletes strive to assert their position at SEA Games 33

Facing no small challenge at SEA Games 33, Vietnamese martial arts athletes are determined to affirm their position.

" GOLD MINE" OF VIETNAMESE SPORTS

At the 32nd SEA Games held 2 years ago in Cambodia, martial arts brought home 68 out of 136 gold medals (accounting for 50%) for the Vietnamese sports delegation. Notable among them were wrestling (13 gold medals), judo (8 gold medals), vovinam (7 gold medals), karate (6 gold medals), kun bokator (6 gold medals), kun khmer (5 gold medals), pencak silat (4 gold medals), kickboxing (4 gold medals)... Martial arts are worthy of being the gold mine of Vietnamese sports thanks to their good movement foundation, through which many talents are selected. Besides traditional martial arts, Vietnamese sports also focus on investing in and reaping success from martial arts in the Olympic competition system such as judo, karate, and wrestling.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy (left) is expected to shine to help the Vietnamese judo team affirm its number 1 position at the 33rd SEA Games.

Photo: QA

At the 33rd SEA Games, Thailand did not organize Vietnam's strong sport, Vovinam, and at the same time brought back its "national martial art", Muay Thai. In addition, most martial arts had their competition content cut down, limiting the number of athletes from each country in each event. Therefore, Vietnam had to compete fiercely with countries in the region, especially host Thailand. According to the registration, Vietnam will compete in 11 martial arts at the 33rd SEA Games, including: judo, taekwondo, karate, wrestling, boxing, kickboxing, pencak silat, wushu, muay Thai, jujitsu, and mixed martial arts.

WHY DO WE HAVE TO LOWER THE TARGETS?

Mr. Ta Dinh Duc, in charge of the wrestling department, Vietnam Sports Administration, said that SEA Games 33 will only organize 12 wrestling events, down to 18 events compared to SEA Games 32. In particular, host Thailand will remove 2 of Vietnam's strong weight categories, 50 kg and 53 kg for women. Therefore, the Vietnamese wrestling team also lowered its target, striving to win 5 to 6 gold medals.

In karate, head coach Duong Hoang Long said there are 15 events (13 combat, 2 demonstration) held at the 33rd SEA Games. The Organizing Committee limited countries to register to compete in a maximum of 12 out of 15 events. The Vietnamese karate team also faced difficulties in terms of personnel when top martial artist Nguyen Thi Ngoan was injured and could not participate. The target that the Vietnamese karate team is aiming for is to win 3 to 4 gold medals.

With the difficulties encountered, the Vietnamese pencak silat team cautiously set a target of trying to win 2 gold medals. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese judo team faced fierce competition from host Thailand, so it is predicted that it will be very difficult to repeat the achievement of 8 gold medals achieved 2 years ago in Cambodia.

READY TO EXPLODE

Each SEA Games always has different difficulties and challenges, and Vietnamese martial arts have no choice but to prepare carefully both professionally and mentally to achieve success.

Martial artist Truong Thi Kim Tuyen (third from left) of the taekwondo team

Photo: Vietnam Sports Administration

After the unsuccessful competition of SEA Games 32, the Vietnamese taekwondo team is determined to regain its position by setting a target of winning 4 gold medals. In which, the men's combat category includes prominent faces such as Nguyen Hong Ngoc, Le Tuan, Ly Hong Phuc, trained by expert Erfan Heydarl (Iran), promising to explode. The female combat group with Truong Thi Kim Tuyen, Nguyen Thi Loan, Bac Thi Khiem, after training in Korea, is also ready to hunt for gold at SEA Games 33. Meanwhile, in the martial arts category, although Chau Tuyet Van is no longer there, the remaining athletes are still highly appreciated, promising to win at least 2 gold medals in a total of 4 competition categories.

At the 2025 Southeast Asian Judo Championship, the Vietnamese judo team affirmed its position as the region's number one team by winning 14 gold medals. Before the 33rd SEA Games, the Vietnamese judo team was given the opportunity to train in Mongolia and South Korea. In terms of strength, the Vietnamese judo team has enough talent such as Nguyen Hoang Thanh, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, Le Anh Tai... ready to shine.

The wrestling team has been well prepared and "warmed up" in the Southeast Asian and Asian tournaments this year. The Vietnam Sports Administration also invited American experts to train the women's freestyle wrestling team. The key faces of the Vietnam wrestling team expected at the 33rd SEA Games are Pham Nhu Duy, Dang Trong Hai, Phi Huu Loc, Nguyen Huu Hao, Can Tat Du, Tran Van Truong Vu, Nguyen Cong Thanh, Nguyen Cong Manh, Nguyen Ba Son, and Nghiem Dinh Hieu.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vdv-vo-thuat-no-luc-khang-dinh-vi-the-tai-sea-games-33-185251130210312651.htm