Vovinam which is practised by many students in ASEAN countries will be an official sport at the coming ASEAN University Games in Myanmar (Photo: VNA).

Southeast Asian Vovinam Federation Vice President Nguyen Binh Dinh said that the University Games’ organizers on January 7 agreed to add Vovinam as an event at the festival.

"We lobbied for Vovinam during a meeting with the organizers and representatives of different relevant bodies in Myanmar, the hosts of the Games. And it is a great news that they agreed with us," Dinh said. 

According to Dinh, one of the reasons that convinced the organizers was that Vovinam had been strongly developed in many countries in the region, such as Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia and Myanmar. Among the Vovinam trainees, many are students.

The National Vovinam Champion in 2017.

As a result, Vovinam will be one of the 17 martial arts at the December Games.

There will be 17 sets of medals available at the competition: 10 for performance and seven for combat events.

The Southeast Asian Games in 2011 and 2103 included Vovinam. It was also a sport at the Asian Beach Games in 2016.

Source: VNA