Da Nang’s high-performance sports teams have a year of success as winning 323 gold medals, 288 silver and 395 bronze at national, continental and world sporting events. This achievement once again affirmed Da Nang's position in international sports arena and showed its great attention and investment in the right direction for high-performance sports.

Le Van Toan (3rd, left) had a successful 2024 with a gold medal at the Pencak Silat World Championship and is the high hope of the city's sports sector in 2025. Photo courtesy of the character

Exceeding assigned targets

On December 29, Le Van Toan returned home with members of the Vietnamese Pencak Silat team after the successful 2024 Pencak Silat World Championship in the UAE.

Toan is the promising young athlete of Da Nang's Pencak Silat team. Born in 1999, the fighter determined to train and prepare well for the world arena. Entering the tournament, in the first match, Toan defeated the host opponent UAE. Continuing his winning streak, the talent fighter of Da Nang’s Pencak Silat team continuously defeated opponents from France, Singapore and Malaysia to win the championship. More impressively, this is the fourth time Toan has won a gold medal at the world championship.

“This is a gift I dedicate to coaches who have always wholeheartedly helped and guided me. My victory significantly contributes to the achievements of Da Nang’s sports sector in particular and Viet Nam’s in general” Toan added.

Coach of the Da Nang Pencak Silat team Le Thi Hong Ngoan was very happy to see her student gradually mature and successfully conquer the prestigious gold medal at the world championship. This is an important goal of the Pencak Silat team in 2024 and Toan has completed it excellently.

Aside from Pencak Silat, traditional martial arts also succeeded in winning 3 gold medals at the world championships thanks to the excellent performance of martial artists Nguyen Giang Son, Ro O Phu and Phan Thi Dung.

Meanwhile, in the Southeast Asian and Asian sports arenas, Da Nang athletes won more than 40 gold medals. One of the outstanding faces is rower Pham Thi Hue who won 1 gold medal in the women’s octuple sculls, 1 gold in the women’s double sculls, and 1 bronze in the women’s quadruple sculls events at the 2024 Asian Rowing Championship in Uzbekistan. She also showed her "unrivaled" ability when taking 3 gold medals at the 2024 National Rowing Championship.

Sharing about her achievements in 2024, Pham Thi Hue said "I am proud of the medals I won last year. I am always determined in training and competing to conquer my own limits. I hope that my own contributions will inspire young athletes”.

Thanks to the excellence of the athletes, at the end of 2024, Da Nang high-performance sports won 323 gold, 288 silver and 395 bronze medals in total, far exceeding the assigned target of 183 gold, 150 silver and 155 bronze medals.

In particular, the national arena is where athletes won a large number of medals (278 gold, 253 silver and 355 bronze medals).

Preparation for tournaments in 2025

These days, Da Nang's high-performance sports teams maintain two training sessions per day to improve their skills, aiming for important tournaments in 2025.

At the city's swimming and diving club, the swimming team's training atmosphere is cheerful. In 2024, local swimmers grabbed 26 gold, 20 silver and 24 bronze medals at national championships. The team's goal in 2025 is to improve its performance at regional and international tournaments, especially the upcoming SEA Games 33 in Thailand.

Swimmer Nguyen Viet Tuong said "Swimming is one of the sports that receives a lot of expectations, so my teammates and I always uphold the spirit of determination in training and competing. My goal is to win a gold medal at the national swimming championship in 2025 to be selected for the Vietnamese swimming team to participate in the 33^rd SEA Games”.

Along with swimming, rowing continues to receive high expectations in 2025. The athletes of the Da Nang rowing team include Pham Thi Hue, Nguyen Lam Kieu Diem and Tran Thi Kiet (rowing); Hien Nam, Y Khoer Nie, Tran Thanh Cuong and Nguyen Tuong Duy (canoeing) are likely to participate in the 33^rd SEA Games if they maintain high performance.

Head of the Da Nang rowing department Tong Huu Dung said that rowing was included in the competition programme at SEA Games 33 after a year of being eliminated, the coaching staff and members of the Da Nang rowing team are very excited. This is the motivation for athletes to strive to practice and compete with good form in 2025.

According to Deputy Director in charge of the Da Nang Sports and Gymnastics Training Centre Tran Do Quang, the city's high-performance sports closed 2024 with many successes which were mainly attributed to tireless efforts of athletes and coaches.

At domestic sports tournaments, Da Nang affirms its position as one of the leading units. Meanwhile, in the continental and world arenas, the city still has excellent athletes competing for prestigious medals.

“2025 will be a busy year for high-performance sports in the city with many tournaments, including the 33^rd SEA Games. To achieve the best results, the centre will create favourable conditions for athletes to take part in training courses at home and abroad to improve their professional skills and increase their ability to compete for medals” said Mr. Quang.

Reporting by PHI NONG - Translating by M.DUNG