A ceremony took place in the city last Saturday to honour the Da Nang-based coaches and athletes who gained outstanding achievements at the recent 5^th Asian Beach Games (ABG5).

Vice Chairman Dung (third right) awarding outstanding athletes

A total of 5 coaches and 19 athletes from across the city participated in 8 of the 14 sports at ABG5.  Remarkable achievements by the Da Nang athletes included gold medals for Pham Kim Ngan in bodybuilding, Nguyen Thi Ai Van for traditional martial arts, and Hoang Thi Minh Thuan for shuttlecock.  In addition, Dao Thi Thao Nguyen took a silver medal in jujitsu, whilst Duong Thi Thanh Minh and Dang Minh Huy gained bronze medals in jujitsu and rowing respectively.

They were all awarded Certificates of Merit by the municipal People’s Committee Chairman Huynh Duc Tho in recognition of their outstanding achievements.  The gold medal winners were awarded 25 million VND each, the silver medal winner 12.5 million VND, and the bronze medal winners 10 million VND each. 

Addressing the event, municipal People’s Committee Vice Chairman Dang Viet Dung congratulated the coaches and athletes on their outstanding achievements at ABG5.  He remarked that their achievements played an important role in promoting the development of the local sports sector, and in advertising the city’s name to international friends.

The city leader hoped that local coaches and athletes would make even greater efforts to gain more success at larger-scale international events, including the Asian Games (ASIAD).  He said that special attention should be paid to increasing the training quality of athletes in order to discover new talent from the local sports sector. 

During his meeting on Sunday with volunteers who had served at the international sports event, Vice Chairman Dung thanked them for their enthusiasm and active assistance during the games.  In addition, the city leader took the opportunity to  highly praise the local universities and colleges for allowing their students to become involved as volunteers at ABG5.  He hoped that the volunteers would continue upholding their spirit of enthusiasm and enhancing their professional skills, especially their foreign language skills, in the future.

On the occasion, 72 outstanding volunteers were presented with souvenirs from the ABG5 organisers, and Certificates of Merit from the local Department of Foreign Affairs.