The Da Nang Karate Club Tournament 2024 officially kicked off at the Gymnasium of the Tran Dai Nghia Junior High School based in Ngu Hanh Son District on Thursday.

A Karate performance at the tournament. Photo: P.N

Hosted by the Da Nang Karate Federation, the tournament aims to meet the sports needs of athletes and spread the Karate movement closer to the community.

Karate is one of the favorite sports among students, so the number of athletes participating in the tournament is increasing.

This year's municipal-level Karate Club Tournament attracts nearly 500 athletes from 33 martial arts clubs, including Labor Culture House, Children's Palace, Hoa Ninh, An Hai Dong, Thai Son, Vietbudo, Hoa Vang District Cultural - Sports Centre, Thanh Khe District Cultural - Sports Centre, Nguyen Phu Huong, Ly Tu Trong Primary School, Dang Thai Mai Junior High School, University of Science and Technology, Duy Tan University, University of Architecture, and University of Economics.

Participating athletes compete for 56 sets of medals in two categories of individual and team according to 4 age groups: 10-11 years old, 12-14 years old, 15-17 years old and over 17 years old.

Athlete Nguyen Thi Huong from the An Hai Dong Karate Club said “This is the 5^th time I have participated in the tournament, and I compete in the 60kg sparring event. To prepare for the tournament, I practice 6 sessions/week with my teammates at the club under the guidance of the coach. In addition, I practice at home to improve my physical strength and endurance. In 2020, I won a bronze medal in the sparring event. I set a target to win a gold medal at this year's tournament”.

With the same determination, athlete Huynh Van Dang Khoa from the Hoa Ninh Karate Club targets to grab two gold medals at the tournament.

Dang Khoa has participated in the tournament more than 10 times, winning 7 gold medals. In addition, he was called up to the city’s Karate team, and won a bronze medal at the 2022 National Karate Championship.

“The annual Da Nang Club Karate Tournament is a useful playground for me to nurture my passion for Karate. I will try my best to win 2 gold medals in the individual event for 78kg, and the team event for over 17 years old” Dang Khoa shared.

This year’s tournament witnesses the participation of the best athletes from Karate clubs citywide. The Vinh Trung Karate Club has 13 athletes participating. Coach Nguyen Hoang said that the tournament is a good opportunity for the club's athletes to exchange and compete professionally with strong rivals from clubs and martial arts schools in the city.

According to Mr. Doan Chi Dao, Chairman of the Da Nang Karate Federation, the tournament is part of the federation's competition system and is held annually. This year’s tournament attracts nearly 500 athletes, a record number compared to previous events. Through the tournament, the organisers not only evaluate the Karate training movement in localities, but also discover and select talented athletes to add to the city's sports team to compete in national and international championships.

"Thanks to the attention and investment of units and localities, the Karate movement in the city has been developing strongly. Currently, the city has nearly 60 Karate clubs with thousands of martial artists across the city. In the near future, the city’s Karate Federation will organise more tournaments to develop this kind of sports more strongly" said Mr. Dao.

Reporting by PHI NONG - Translating by M.DUNG