General Chansamone Chanyalath (fifth right) senior officials from the National Olympic Committee of Laos, Mr Vixay Naviengchan, trainers and the vovinam team on Friday gather for a party at the Asean Mall in Vientiane to celebrate the team’s success at the SEA Games.

Vovinam team sets sights higher after medal success at SEA Games

On the back of the vovinam team’s success at the South East Asian (SEA) Games in Vietnam last month, the Lao Vovinam Federation will arrange for the young competitors to train further, in readiness for greater glory in international events this year and next.
The main events will be the Asean Vovinam Championship in Cambodia in December and an international vovinam competition in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, next January.
After honing their skills at these competitions, the team will then prepare for the next edition of the SEA Games in Cambodia in May next year.  
On Friday the Federation held a party in Vientiane to celebrate the team’s medal haul at the SEA Games in Vietnam, where they collected two gold, one silver and three bronze medals.
The party was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, General Chansamone Chanyalath, President of the Lao Vovinam Federation Mr Vixay Naviengchan, senior officials from the National Olympic Committee of Laos, members of the business community, trainers, and competitors.
President of the Lao Tennis Federation, Mr Daovone Phachanthavong, gave US$500 to the vovinam team as a reward for their efforts, while business representatives also donated cash prizes.
General Chansamone said the vovinam federation would try to improve and expand the martial art and ensure that competitors were even better placed to win medals in upcoming events, despite budget constraints which made training support difficult.
In 2011, the Lao vovinam team won two gold and five bronze medals at the 26th SEA Games in Indonesia, followed by two gold, three silver and four bronze medals at the 27th SEA Games in Myanmar in 2013.
The sport was not included at the SEA Games held in Singapore in 2015, in Malaysia in 2017, and the Philippines in 2019.
Martial artists in more than 90 countries are practitioners of the sport of vovinam, which was developed in Vietnam.

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
(Latest Update June 6, 2022)