Muaythai

World champion Huỳnh Hà Hữu Hiếu of Việt Nam (right) will take part in the Asian Muaythai Championship 2025. — Photo courtesy of Hữu Hiếu

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam will welcome the strongest fighters in the region when it hosts the Asian Muaythai Championship 2025.

The International Federation of Muaythai (IFMA) officially named Việt Nam as the organiser of the tournament, which will be held in June 20-26 in Thái Nguyên Province.

It will be the first time that the biggest continental competition will be here, an indication of how the sport has grown rapidly in recent years.

"The Asian championships is one of the official tournaments in the IFMA's competition system. To earn this hosting right, Việt Nam and Thái Nguyên have to meet strict requirements, from equipment to finances, set by the World Federation," said Từ Thị Lê Na, official of the Muaythai Department under the Sports Authority of Việt Nam (SAV).

"This is a great honour for Việt Nam. The SAV and Thái Nguyên have agreed with each other on the organisation activities and policies, while further work will be conducted later.

"This is an opportunity for Vietnamese fighters to demonstrate their professional abilities against continental opponents and at the same time Việt Nam affirms its position in the international arena."

According to the schedule, representatives of the Asian Muaythai Federation will arrive in the province for facility inspection prior to the event, which is expected to attract more than 300 athletes from across 30 countries and regions.

They will compete for medals in 28 weight categories and four performance classes.

The Vietnamese national team will begin training from the first of March for different international events in 2025.

Vietnamese national muaythai fighters at the world championship 2024. They will have number of tournaments in 2025. — Photo of Việt Nam Sports Team

The first one will be the world championships from May 22-31 in Turkey. After the Asian competition at home, they will be travelling to China in August to take part in the World Games.

Following that younger competitors will show their talents at the World Youth Muaythai Championships in September in the United Arab Emirates.

The last but biggest competition for them all will be the 33rd SEA Games in December in Thailand.

Na said Việt Nam expects gold medals in the regionals and would consider all the other international events as 'playgrounds' where Vietnamese athletes could sharpen their techniques, learn valuable experience and increase their mental resilience.

At the 32nd Games in Cambodia in 2023, Muaythai was not on the sheet, but there was kun khmer which is a similar martial art. Việt Nam took five golds and were placed second behind the hosts. A year earlier, at the 31st Games on home turf, Việt Nam topped the table with four golds. — VNS