Hai Phong fighters continue to make their mark in competition

One success after another

The National Karate Club Championship concluded on the afternoon of August 18 in Dak Lak Province, with the Hai Phong Karate Team winning two gold medals, one silver and eight bronze medals—far exceeding its pre-tournament target of one gold, one silver and one bronze.

Hai Phong's top hope at the tournament, Tran Lap Trung Hieu, lived up to the expectations of the coaching staff. In the first finals of the competition, the fighter secured a gold medal for the team in the men's 86kg Kumite category for athletes aged 18 and above.

Following in the footsteps of his senior teammate, young female fighter Tran Thi Hong Anh won gold in the women's 30kg Kumite category for athletes aged 10–11. Another young female fighter, Nguyen Ngoc Mai Anh, claimed a silver medal in the 56kg category.

The Hai Phong team also collected eight bronze medals, many of them won by athletes in the 10–11 age group who are new to the competitive scene. This highlights the team's strong and promising pool of young talent, providing a solid foundation for future competitions.

According to coach Le Van Minh, ahead of this tournament, Hai Phong's fighters also contributed to the Vietnam Karate Team's overall championship title at the 13th Southeast Asian Karate Championships in 2026—the region's premier karate competition—winning one silver and two bronze medals.

At the National Karate Club Championship for the northern region, hosted by Hai Phong in March, Pham Thi To Trang, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Head of the Organizing Committee, said that the karate movement in the northern region, and in Hai Phong in particular, is developing strongly and attracting large numbers of young people. Many athletes have achieved high-level results at both domestic and international competitions.

Hosting the tournament not only provided athletes with an opportunity to compete, exchange experience and improve their technical skills, but also helped promote the image of Hai Phong as a dynamic and friendly city while contributing to the broader development of the local sports movement. At that tournament, the Hai Phong Karate Team won an impressive six gold medals, 11 silver medals and 28 bronze medals.

In mid-June, Hai Phong's karate fighters once again delivered encouraging results, winning two gold medals, one silver and 14 bronze medals at the 2026 National Youth Karate Championships.

Setting sights on bigger goals

Karate is currently under the management of the Hai Phong Sports Training and Competition Center. Compared with other martial arts such as Pencak Silat and Boxing, Karate does not yet have as long a tradition in Hai Phong. This has given the coaching staff additional motivation to achieve strong results at competitions. At the same time, it has fueled the athletes' desire to win and encouraged them to train harder.

In addition to Tran Lap Trung Hieu, the Hai Phong Karate Team currently has several promising athletes to watch, including Le Thi Huyen Dieu and Vu Thuy Linh, both members of the city's senior team. The city's youth and talent-development teams also have a number of promising athletes who are showing potential and could achieve strong results in upcoming competitions.

From now until the end of the year, the Hai Phong Karate Team will compete in several other major tournaments, with its main focus on the 10th National Sports Games, scheduled to take place later this year. Held once every four years, the event is the country's biggest multi-sport competition. Alongside other martial arts such as Boxing, Wushu, Kurash, Jujitsu and Vovinam, Karate will shoulder the responsibility of helping the Hai Phong high-performance sports delegation secure medals.

Among Hai Phong's leading medal hopes is Tran Lap Trung Hieu. The male fighter, originally from the former Chi Linh City, was discovered by coaches while studying at Cong Hoa Secondary School in 2017 and has been training for nearly a decade. With a strong physique, good fitness and a solid technical foundation, Tran Lap Trung Hieu has gradually established himself at major competitions and become a formidable opponent for fighters in the same weight category.

According to the Hai Phong Karate Team's coaching staff, the National Sports Games bring together the country's strongest karate fighters, making competition at the Games exceptionally fierce and intense. Although the Hai Phong Karate Team has achieved encouraging results at several competitions since the beginning of the year, the entire team must continue working hard to achieve even better results, particularly at major events.

Tien Huy