Over the past 30 years, it can be said that there have not been many sports leaders who have gathered both talent and enthusiasm like Hoang Vinh Giang. Although he does not own many medals of the champion, such as the national high jump record for 32 years (1964 - 1996), he owns a list of many champions that he has cared for and trained. Vietnamese sports have gained remarkable position in 20 years (1990 - 2010) with his great contributions.
In his youth, Hoang Vinh Giang studied at the Kiev Sports Academy (Ukraine, former Soviet Union) majoring in sports management.
He once shared that upon returning home, he told himself in his heart that he had to redesign the route so that Hanoi sports in particular and Vietnamese sports in general would progress in the region and continent.
The luggage that he brought back home was a few containers - not goods, but martial arts training tools such as blades, masks, dummies, specialised costumes and a lot of materials and theories to teach martial arts, wrestling, athletics, fencing, judo, and boxing, making an important contribution to Vietnam’s sports development.
In the process of national sports re-integrating with Southeast Asian sports, Hoang Vinh Giang's policy is to gain the highest achievements in the fastest way.
While serving as director of Hanoi Sports Department, he helped Hanoi and Vietnam sports with the training of a generation of athletes in wushu, track and field, taekwondo, judo, wrestling, boxing, and fencing, winning Vietnam positive results in the regional arena, including the biggest medal tally at SEA Games 22 in 2003, which was the first time the tournament was hosted in Vietnam.
This is a new milestone of Vietnamese sports, from the bottom group has risen and since then has never dropped out of the top three in regional sports. That success partly comes from Hoang Vinh Giang's previous calculations and methodical and long-term planning strategies.
"Chief architect" Hoang Vinh Giang has contributed to sending many athletes to train in China and abroad, contributing to the resilience of many typical sports such as martial arts and other key subjects: athletics, badminton, shooting, gymnastics, fencing, wushu, taekwondo, judo, and wrestling. Many generations of sports with hundreds of athletes have become famous thanks to this strategy, such as: Phuong Lan, Thuy Hien, Duy Kiem, Thanh Xuan (wushu); Nguyen Thi Tinh, Lan Anh, Chi Dong (athletics); and Ngan Thuong (gymnastics). Many localities in the country have also learned from Hanoi's approach to sports.
In the role of Vietnam Olympic Committee Vice President and Vice President of the Olympic Council of Asia, Hoang Vinh Giang, who spoke English, Russian, and Chinese, has made great contributions to Vietnamese sports.
A number of sports festivals have been brought to Vietnam, such as the 22nd Southeast Asian Games in 2003, the Asian Indoor Games in 2009, and the Asian Beach Games in 2016, with his great contribution.
In 2006, Hoang Vinh Giang was awarded Labour Hero in Renewal Period for his contributions to national sport. Six years later, he was awarded an international award by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for his many contributions to the development of the Vietnamese Olympic movement and the international Olympic movement.
He loved martial arts, devoting a lot of time and energy to this field. He focused on building wushu, swordsmanship, karate, taekwondo, and pencak sila, but did not abandon any other promising sports. As Director of the Hanoi Sports Department, as well as Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Olympic Committee, he actively contributed to promoting sport development in every province and city. In any position, he left his mark with decisiveness and highly effective decisions.
Like many great talents, Hoang Vinh Giang was endowed with elegant presence, an energetic body, a remarkable mind and a loving heart. In real life, he was quite open, willing to talk to colleagues, coaches, athletes and the press.
“I always hope that my country's sports will be at the top of Southeast Asia; and with more than 40 countries and territories in Asia, we are never inferior. When the SEA Games return to Vietnam, I believe we will once again let international friends know how developed and strong our sport is," he once shared.
A talented life has ended, having left a bold mark on Vietnamese sports.
