World Games

World champion Nguyễn Trần Duy Nhất will defend his Muay Thai title at the World Games 2025, which will be held from August 7 to 17 in China. Photo dantri.vn

HÀ NỘI Việt Nam will see 28 athletes competing in eight sports at the World Games 2025, which will be held from August 7 to 17 in China.

Tournament organisers have sent a letter to confirm Vietnamese competitors' participation in aerobics, women's beach handball, billiards, petanque, kickboxing, Muay Thai, wushu, and jujitsu.

In aerobics, Việt Nam will compete in the trio and team events. The national team are among the world's best in the latter event, as they won the world championship title in 2023 and the silver medal in 2024.

The women's beach handball competition will take place in Chengdu. Việt Nam are also a force to be reckoned with in handball, after winning three Asian championship trophies from 2023 to 2025.

Trần Quyết Chiến and Phùng Kiện Tường will be the Vietnamese representatives in billiards.

It will be Chiến's third time in this arena. After two quarter-final finishes, he is expected to take the highest position due to his current world standing.

The most successful billiards player in Việt Nam's history placed No 1 in the world in 2024 and currently sits in third place. The 41-year-old won four World Cup titles and just won silver at the World Cup Ankara in June.

The General Secretary of the Việt Nam Billiards and Snooker Federation, Đoàn Tuấn Anh, said Việt Nam aim to win a medal at this year's World Games, adding that it is time for Chiến to take the top podium, while his female teammate Tường is expected to place in the top three.

In petanque, Võ Minh Luân and Kim Thị Thu Thảo will vie for the highest result. Thảo is under heavier pressure, as she is the reigning champion from the Asian championship women's doubles event.

Martial arts are Việt Nam's strong point in many international sport festivals, and this competition will likely be no exception. This year, the country's wushu, kickboxing and Muay Thai teams are widely expected to win medals.

While Asian silver medallist Triệu Thị Phương Thủy will make a debut in kickboxing and World Beach Games champion Nguyễn Thị Minh Vương will do the same in jujitsu, competitors in wushu and Muay Thai will try to defend their titles.

Nguyễn Trần Duy Nhất will defend his Muay Thai crown in the men's 57kg, which he claimed four years ago in the US. The seven-time world champion said he was intensively training in preparation for the tournament.

Meanwhile in wushu, Dương Thúy Vi hopes to beat her challengers to remain in the top spot in the women's qiangshu and jianshu event.

Other medal hopefuls include Huỳnh Đỗ Đạt, Nguyễn Huy Hoàng, Ngô Phương Nga and Nguyễn Thị Thu Thủy in the sanda (fighting), and Đặng Trần Phương Nhi and Nông Văn Hữu in the taolu (performance) competitions.

Torch bearer Marcel Hassemeier during the World Games 2025 Torch Relay in Chengdu on Saturday. XINHUA/VNA Photo

The 2025 World Games, the 12th edition of the tournament, includes sports and sporting disciplines that are not involved in the Olympic Games.

This is the first World Games to be held under guidelines set by the strategy paper 'Growth Beyond Excellence', the third edition to be held in Asia, and the first time China will be hosting the competition.

The Chengdu event will feature athletes from 118 countries and regions. They will compete in 34 sports, with 253 sets of medal up for grabs.

Việt Nam took two golds and placed 31st in the last Games. VNS