Trio Nguyen Hoang Ngan, Do Thi Thu Ha and Nguyen Thi Hang won the only gold medal for Vietnam at this year’s tournament in the 2nd day of competition on September 5.
Also on the second day of competition, martial artist Bui Thi Ngoc Han ranked 5th in the female individual kumite event(61kg category), while her teammate Le Thi Thuy stood 5th in the under 68kg category and Nguyen Thi Hong Anh also ranked 5th in the over 68kg weight class of female individual kumite.
On the 3rd day of the competition, which took place yesterday, Vietnam’s female kumite team was placed at No. 5.
Earlier, in the first day of competition on September 4, Tran Thi Khanh Vy earned a bronze in female individual kumite’s under 50kg weight class.
With one gold and one bronze medals, Vietnam ranked 6th in the medal tally. Hosts Japan dominated the tournament, ranking first with nine gold, one silver, and six bronze, followed by Kazakhstan with three gold, two silvers and one bronze. Iran came in third with two gold, four silver and five bronze medals.
The Asian Karatedo Championships are held by the AKF every two years in different member countries. In the previous edition in UAE, Vietnam won one silver and one bronze medal thanks to the female kata team.
From August 30 to September 3, the AKF held a meeting to elect its new executive board for 2015-2020 term. Vietnam karate welcomed the good news as head of the karate department under the National Sports Administration was once again elected as a member of the board for the 2015-2020 term. In Southeast Asia, only Vietnam and Malaysia have been elected representatives to the board.
The meeting discussed ways to lobby for the International Olympic Committee to include karate into official competition at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan – the home of the martial arts. Vietnam would have more chances to win medals if karate becomes an official competition event at the Olympic Games.
