Ahead of the 10th National Sports Games (taking place in mid-November in Ho Chi Minh City), the Khanh Hoa Taekwondo team is once again facing the familiar issue of a thin squad, while competitors are growing stronger. But Coach Van Thanh Danh and his pupils are still striving in training with the goal of winning medals at the Games.
Thin squad
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| Khanh Hoa Taekwondo team athletes train in preparation for the 10th National Sports Games. |
As the 10th National Sports Games in 2026 approaches, the training atmosphere of the Khanh Hoa Taekwondo team has become increasingly vibrant. Twice a day, the athletes study their academic subjects while making time to train and build physical fitness... Coach Van Thanh Danh, in charge of the Khanh Hoa Taekwondo team, said that preparations for this Games edition have been underway for 2 years with an initial roster of 12 athletes. However, during the preparation process, unexpected incidents occurred that led to a shortage in the squad's lineup, forcing the coaching staff to bring in new faces.
After the selection process, the Khanh Hoa Taekwondo team is still maintaining a roster of 12 athletes qualified to participate in the competition events at this year's National Sports Games. Specifically, in the women's individual sparring event, Nguyen Bao An stands out in the women's 46kg weight class. Next is the return of athlete Nguyen Thi Khanh Ly, competing in the over 73kg category, who is expected to help Khanh Hoa Taekwondo win a medal at the Games. Meanwhile, in men's sparring, the Khanh Hoa Taekwondo team places its hopes on young athletes in the 54kg, 58kg, 80kg, and 87kg weight classes. In the poomsae (forms) event, the team is relying on two key pillars, Van Tram Nhat Tan and Bui Tuan Anh.
Assessing the squad situation, Coach Van Thanh Danh acknowledged: “The gap between Khanh Hoa Taekwondo and strong localities and sectors such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and the Ministry of Public Security... is quite wide. These are localities and units with large squads, many national team athletes, and well-structured investment for many consecutive years. Khanh Hoa Taekwondo can hardly compete head-to-head in weight categories where key athletes from those localities and units compete. However, we can completely win medals in weight classes with fewer competing athletes.”
Opportunities still remain
At the 10th National Sports Games, the Taekwondo event had notable competition registration regulations. Specifically, under the tournament rules, each athlete was only allowed to register for a single event; each delegation was only permitted to register for 6/8 men's sparring events, 6/8 women's sparring events, 1/3 team sparring events, and 3/5 poomsae events. At first glance, this regulation might seem disadvantageous by limiting individual opportunities, but it was good news for teams with thin rosters like Khanh Hoa. Especially since strong provinces, cities, and units could not concentrate their standout athletes across multiple events. This was seen as an opportunity for average and fairly skilled athletes to register in brackets without "stars".
In addition, the women's 4-person team event was also an area of high expectations for the Khanh Hoa Taekwondo team. According to the provided information, very few teams registered for this event, only about 5 to 6 teams. With such a small number of teams, the chances of reaching a medal for teams with modest rosters like Khanh Hoa would be higher. Therefore, coming to the 10th National Sports Games, the Khanh Hoa Taekwondo team set a goal of winning 1 gold medal, 2 silver medals, and 3 bronze medals. This was no easy task, but with proactive preparation, the entire Khanh Hoa Taekwondo team showed determination to succeed and contribute to bringing glory to Khanh Hoa sports on the national stage.
P.H
