Nguyen Van Duong poses with his 'Olympic ticket' earned at the Asia/Oceania Olympic boxing qualifying tournament in Jordan (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – BoxerNguyen Van Duong has become the fifth Vietnamese athlete qualified for the coming Tokyo Olympics this summer.
Duong won his berth afterknocking down Chatchai Decha Butdee of Thailand in the Asia/OceaniaOlympic boxing qualifying tournament early March 10 morning (Hanoi time) inAmman, Jordan.
He needed only 47 seconds tofloor Southeast Asian Games champion Butdee after series of punches to his headin the quarter-final match of the men’s featherweight (52-57kg) category atPrince Hamzah Hall.
It is his second knock-outresult in Jordan. He also sent Australian Charlie Senior home after only 42seconds in the first-round match.
Apart from a berth in thesemi-finals, Duong also secured a slot in the Tokyo Games as per the rules ofthe event.
It was also sweet revenge forthe Vietnamese who lost to Butdee in the SEA Games’ gold medal match lastDecember.
Duong will face MohammadAbdelaziz Mohamm Alwadi of the hosts in the last-four round. Alwadi earlier won5-0 over South Korean HaM Sangmyeong. The other semis will see No 1 seedMirazizbek Mirzakhalilov of Uzbekistan versus Serik Temirzhanov of Kazakhstan.
Duong is the second Vietnameseboxer to compete in the Olympics, following Dang Hieu Hien in the Seoul Gamesin 1988.
Vietnam also pinned a high hopeon Nguyen Manh Cuong in the men’s light heavy (75-81kg) category, who willcompete in a match later on March 10.
Cuong was ousted in thequarterfinals on March 8 but he had a chance when he fights Indian SachinKumar. The winners of two matches will advance to the final on March 11. Thewinner will get an Olympic ticket.
Earlier, two Vietnamese femaleboxers Nguyen Thi Tam and Nguyen Thi Huong, both were seeded No 3 in theirclasses were eliminated from the tournament.
Before Duong, four VietnameseOlympic qualifiers are swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang, gymnast Le Thanh Tung and archersDo Thi Anh Nguyet and Nguyen Hoang Phi Vu./.
Vietnamese boxer Tran Van Thao will compete against Australia’s Billy Dib for the World Boxing Council (WBC) Australasian title in Australia on December 20.
Boxer Truong Dinh Hoang of Vietnam has dominated the defence of his World Boxing Association (WBA) Asia super middleweight belt in Manila, the Philippines.
Nguyen Thi Thu Nhi has become the first Vietnamese female boxer to win the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) Asia Pacific competition in Cambodia on February 29.
The Vietnamese team will gather on June 26 in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, where they will train until July 14 before departing for Indonesia for the ASEAN U23 Championship 2025, which runs from July 15 to 29. Vietnam will face Laos on July 19 and Cambodia on July 22 in the group stage.
The exhibition showcases more than 100 valuable documents and artifacts, divided into two main parts: “Journalist Nguyen Ai Quoc – Ho Chi Minh” and “President Ho Chi Minh – Founder and Mentor of Vietnamese Revolutionary Press.” This is an opportunity to recall the late leader’s journalism journey and affirm his exceptional role in founding and guiding the revolutionary press in Vietnam.
For the first time, the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) has granted Vietnam hosting rights for the two championships, including the Asian women’s solo category, which debuts this year as an officially recognised event.
Eight teams will join the tournament, divided into two groups. Group A features Vietnam, the Philippines, Sichuan Club (China), and Australia, while Group B consists of Vietnam U21, Korabelka Club (Russia), Taiwan (China), and U21 Thailand.
Despite strong home support and high expectations, Vietnam were unable to overcome the defending champions, who secured their third consecutive win over Vietnam in a regional final, following previous victories in 2014 and 2023.
The event, part of Vietnam’s cultural diplomacy strategy through 2030, was jointly organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in Venezuela and USM’s Faculty of International Relations. It attracted thousands of students from universities across Venezuela.
For the first time, Vietnamese audiences will have the opportunity to experience the ballet masterpiece "Don Quixote" in its original version by renowned choreographer Marius Petipa.
The contest carried deep meaning as it was the first time the life of Vietnamese women abroad had been highlighted as the central theme, said poet and writer Nguyen Quang Thieu, Chairman of the Vietnam Writers’ Association.
The event formed part of Vietnam’s ongoing campaign to seek UNESCO World Heritage status for the complex at the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, scheduled to take place in Paris in July.
Creative cultural festivals are fast emerging as a new catalyst for tourism development in Vietnam, as localities increasingly invest in these vibrant events on a more systematic and larger scale.
This marks the first time Vietnam has hosted a continental-level Muay event which will feature competitions across 28 weight categories in combat and eight performance categories.
Coming to the Vietnamese booth, visitors had the chance to take part in a bamboo dance, a workshop on painting woven bamboo or rattan, or quizzes about Vietnam.
These are impressive achievements, not only showing the efforts and prowess of Vietnamese paddlers but also serving as proof of the sports sector’s strategic and systematic investment.
The cultural event in Canberra not only fostered cultural exchanges between Vietnam and Australia but also contributed to promoting Vietnam’s image internationally
The U23 competition will run from June 16 to 22, followed by the U17 event from June 23 to 28, while athletes competing in the U23 category will undergo weight and skill checks ahead of the matches starting June 18, while similar checks for U17 athletes will take place before June 23.
Vietnam continues to sit just behind continental powerhouses Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, China, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Nguyen Van Duong poses with his 'Olympic ticket' earned at the Asia/Oceania Olympic boxing qualifying tournament in Jordan (Photo: VNA) 
