Lookatvietnam – Martial artists in Viet Nam’s Vovinam team kick off training next month in preparation for the third Asian Indoor Games (AIG), which the country will host from October 30 to November 8.

The martial arts has been promoted in Asia recently, and the Viet Nam Vovinam Federation has helped some countries to develop the sport.

Vovinam is the first Vietnamese sport to be included at the Asian Indoor Games (AIG).

As scheduled, competitors will contest for 14 medal sets in Vovinam tournaments, which will be held at the Military Zone 7 Gymnasium from October 31 to November 5.

According to Master Vo Danh Hai, the federation’s General Secretary, Vovinam artists will compete in six men’s and women’s weight categories and eight performance events.

The martial arts has been promoted in Asia recently, and the Viet Nam Vovinam Federation has helped some countries to develop the sport.

Viet Nam will try to organise the martial arts successfully in AIG to encourage more athletes from all over the world to join in,” said VVFs general secretary Vo Danh Hai.

“VVF will organise courses to train coaches and referees from other countries before the AIG,” Hai said.” We hope that Vovinam will be put in a roster of the Southeast Asian, Asian Games and other international competitions.”

Viet Nam will host a World Vovinam Championship in HCM City in July, which is seen as a pre-Indoor Games tournament.

Created in Ha Noi in 1938 by Master Nguyen Loc, Vovinam can be performed with or without weapons for self defence. It is a combination of different Vietnamese and foreign traditional martial arts and wrestling techniques.

Vovinam is popular in over 35 countries and territories around the world, with hundreds of thousands of followers.

In a meeting last November, the AIG organising committee said the opening ceremony will be held at Ha Noi’s 40,000-seat My Dinh National Stadium on November 30, while Quan Ngua Sports Palace will host the closing ceremony.

Ha Noi will be the main venue for 11 sports, along with HCM City, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong and Quang Ninh.

AIG is expected to attract over 4,000 athletes, coaches and officials from 45 countries and territories, who will compete in 20 official sporting events including athletics, short course swimming, fin swimming, dance sport, archery, petanque, wushu, pencak silat, women’s boxing, shuttlecock kicking, sepak takraw, aerobics, chess, Chinese chess (Xiangqi), futsal, Thai muay, basketball, E-Sports, traditional Vietnamese martial arts (Vovinam), billiards&snooker, kurash (central Asian wrestling), bowling, kick boxing, kabaddi, Lion and Dragon Dancing, a demonstration of the martial art jujitsu and beltwrestling.

(Source: Viet Nam News)