Opening of the Unarmed Combat Sports Festival of Martial Arts Clubs of the whole army

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Nghia, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and Head of the organizing committee of the sports festival chaired and delivered the opening speech.

Attending the opening ceremony were: Major General Vu Viet Hung, Director of the Department of Military Training and Schools (General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army); Colonel Luong Dinh Chung, Party Secretary, Political Commissar of Military Region 5; Nguyen Thi Anh Thi, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Da Nang City ...

There are 46 martial arts clubs participating in the sports festival, with 587 athletes from units, schools, and provincial and municipal Military Commands (compared to the 2023 sports festival, there are 5 more clubs). Athletes compete in 2 age groups from 18 to 27 and over 27 to 35. Of which, men compete in 9 weight categories; women compete in 6 weight categories. Competition time: Men 3 minutes/round; women 2 minutes/round; 1 minute break between rounds.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the sports festival, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Nghia, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and Head of the Organizing Committee, emphasized: Over the past years, with the attention and leadership of the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defense , the General Staff and Party committees and commanders of agencies and units throughout the army, the movement of physical training and sports has developed strongly and comprehensively, achieving many good results; the quality of training and physical training of officers and soldiers has been gradually improved, meeting the requirements and tasks of training and combat readiness.

In particular, the Army's high-performance sports force always achieves high rankings in national and international competitions, maintaining its position as one of the three leading units nationwide. In addition, martial arts training and practice is increasingly being actively practiced by officers and soldiers of agencies and units, contributing to improving the bravery, will and physical strength of soldiers to successfully complete assigned tasks.

In order for the sports festival to achieve the desired results, the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army requested that the Organizing Committee continue to proactively coordinate with relevant agencies and units to effectively ensure, organize, and conduct the competition strictly, according to plan, and ensure safety. The referees must have a firm grasp of the competition regulations and rules, and promote their role and sense of responsibility in conducting the matches accurately, objectively, and honestly. Coaches and athletes of the clubs must strictly comply with military discipline, competition regulations and rules, and regulations of the Organizing Committee, upholding the sports spirit of "Solidarity - Confidence - Honesty - Nobility" so that the Sports Festival truly becomes a place for competition, exchange, learning, sharing, and accumulation of experience in training and competition, and enhancing the martial spirit of the nation.

For the host unit and the supporting forces, uphold the sense of responsibility to ensure timely delivery and create the best conditions for athletes to compete and achieve high results.

The sports festival takes place until July 4.

Reporters of the People's Army Newspaper recorded some images of the opening ceremony of the Sports Festival and the qualifying round.

Opening ceremony of the sports festival.

Delegates attending the opening ceremony of the sports festival.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Nghia, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and Head of the organizing committee of the sports festival, delivered the opening speech.

On behalf of the arbitration force swear an oath.

On behalf of the athletes, take the oath.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Nghia presented souvenir flags to the delegations participating in the sports festival.

Major General Vu Viet Hung presented souvenir flags to the delegations participating in the sports festival.

Colonel Luong Dinh Chung presented souvenir flags to the delegations participating in the sports festival.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Nghia and comrade Nguyen Thi Anh Thi presented souvenir flags to the delegations participating in the sports festival.