Local athletes to compete at world gymnastics event

High flyers: Vu Ba Dong, Tran Thu Ha (pictured) and Nguyen Tien Phuong will represent Viet Nam at the World Championships in aerobic gymnastics in Sofia, Bulgaria next month. — VNA/VNS Photo Ha Linh

HA NOI — Trio Vu Ba Dong, Nguyen Tien Phuong and Tran Thu Ha will represent Viet Nam at the World Championships in aerobic gymnastics in Sofia, Bulgaria next month.

More than 370 athletes will compete at the championships, representing 36 nations and six continents.

The Vietnamese team is expected to be a dark horse at the tournament following their great progress in regional and international competitions recently.

Ha and Dong pocketed a gold medal in the mixed pair event at the Suzuki World Cup, held in Tokyo in April.

They also managed to win a silver medal in the trio category, performing with Phuong, who won gold at the World Youth Sport Aerobic tournament.

In Sofia, the three Vietnamese will be up against powerhouses China, Romania and France along with growing Russian and South Korean teams.

Vietnamese athletes Truong Khanh Linh and Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan will also compete.

All members left for Bulgaria on May 1 for a short training course before their competitions.

At the 12th world championships held from May 31-June 3, Viet Nam will compete in the individual men's and women's, mixed pairs and trios events.

The championships will also serve as a qualifying event for the ninth World Games, to be held in Cali, Colombia next year, where the aerobic gymnastics is one of the most popular competitions. — VNS