Lao vovinam fighter Phaylath Thammavongsa competes in the men’s weapon event at the SEA Games in Vietnam last month.                                   --Photo Lao Sports Daily News

Lao vovinam team faces uphill battle at next year’s SEA Games

Laos’ vovinam gold medalists are training hard in anticipation of holding on to their coveted top spots at the next edition of the SEA Games, which takes place in Cambodia next May.
But it will be an uphill battle for the team to retain their position in the regional rankings because next year vovinam teams from other Asian countries will be better prepared and ready to challenge the Lao martial artists.
The Lao gold medalists from last month’s SEA Games in Vietnam are Phaylath Thammavongsa, who won in the men’s singles weapons dance event, and Mala Chanthalaksa and Phiksamay Insoumang, who ousted the competition in the women’s doubles’ sword dance event.
They are now honing their tactics and studying new methods of play in order to ward off their opponents, and hope to improve their overall performance.
The Lao Vovinam Federation will arrange a rigorous training regimen for the young competitors, in hopes of even greater success at international events this year and next.
The main upcoming events are the Asean Vovinam Championship in Cambodia in December and an international vovinam competition in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, next January.
After polishing their skills at these competitions, the team will then prepare for the next edition of the SEA Games.  
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 Times Reporters
(Latest Update June 16, 2022)