Soc Trang - The meeting place of national Petanque talents

Top playground - national stature

Amidst the sun and rain of May, at the Petanque Court Complex located in the Soc Trang Provincial Sports Training and Competition Center, the exciting atmosphere spread everywhere when nearly 200 athletes from all provinces, cities and sectors across the country gathered to participate in the 2025 National Petanque Team Championship. They competed in the following events: men's team, women's team, men's technical team, women's technical team, men's - women's technical team, mixed trio of 2 men and 1 woman and mixed trio of 2 women and 1 man, creating a fierce and attractive competition atmosphere that lasted for many days.

Soc Trang is an attractive meeting place for national Petanque talents. Photo: PON LU

Male cueist Nguyen Trong Nhan - Petanque Dong Thap team excitedly said: "I am very happy to come to this tournament, held in Soc Trang. We tried our best to compete well to bring achievements to the locality. That happened, when my teammates and I defeated our opponents to win the championship in the men's and women's technical team event against cueists from Nghe An province".

Previously, Petanque was still a strange sport to many people in the West. However, with a well-planned investment strategy and determination from sports people, Soc Trang now has its own strong team, regularly appearing in the top of the country.

Thach Thi Ngoc Diem - Petanque Soc Trang team shared: "With careful preparation, when coming to this playground, my teammates and I competed successfully, contributing a gold medal to the host team Soc Trang. Winning that achievement, I was very happy and pleased, because the tournament gathered many national players to compete. Through that, I learned a lot of experience and techniques in competition".

Connect, share and learn

During the tournament, the competitive atmosphere was heated not only by the precise marble throws, but also by the spirit of exchange and learning between the units. On the field, the athletes were opponents, friends and inspirations, but all were determined to achieve the best results.

Coach Le Thi Anh Thuot - Peatanque Soc Trang team said: “Soc Trang has 13 athletes competing for 7 sets of medals. In the 2-female-1-male combination event, the athletes (Ngoc Diem, Ngoc Hoa and Anh Khoa) demonstrated their talent by performing accurate marble shots from the qualifying round to the excellent final, surpassing their opponent Vinh Long to win the well-deserved championship and a bronze medal in the women's team event. This is an effort and determination of the athletes, helping the Soc Trang team maintain its "golden" achievement in the national arena. Through each time we host, we learn a lot from other localities, both in terms of technique and competition tactics. More importantly, when the athletes compete at home, their spirit, confidence and pride are even more strongly aroused”.

Comrade Lam Thanh Dung - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Soc Trang awarded medals to the teams with high achievements. Photo: PON LU

The National Petanque Team Championship held in Soc Trang is not only a sports playground but also an opportunity to promote local culture. Athletes from other provinces and cities also took the opportunity to visit the tourist attractions of Botum Wongsa Som Rong Pagoda and Mahatup Pagoda, famous Khmer pagodas in Soc Trang City, to learn about the culture and people here.

Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Soc Trang Lam Thanh Dung emphasized: “This tournament, Soc Trang is like a meeting place for national Petanque talents. Through this playground, we aim to continue to encourage and motivate localities and sectors to pay attention to developing the movement and building Petanque forces so that this sport can develop strongly throughout the country. This is also the basis for experts to select talented faces to supplement the national team to participate in regional and international competitions in the coming time.”

The National Petanque Team Championship in Soc Trang has left many beautiful impressions in the hearts of fans and athletes. With its available potential, Soc Trang is not only a meeting place for Petanque talents but also a place for this sport to continue to develop, contributing to bringing Vietnamese Petanque further into the international arena such as: SEA Games, Asian Championship.

PON LU

Source: https://baosoctrang.org.vn/van-hoa-the-thao-du-lich/202506/soc-trang-diem-hen-cua-nhung-tai-nang-petanque-quoc-gia-5f90126/