Top athletes from Hue Taekwondo at the 2026 National Youth Championships

Taking place from July 23 in Ho Chi Minh City, the 2026 CJ National Youth Taekwondo Championships, organized by the Vietnam Taekwondo Federation, brought together more than 1,000 athletes from 31 provinces and cities nationwide.

Among the participating teams, Ho Chi Minh City fielded the largest squad with over 300 athletes, followed by Hanoi with over 200 athletes and Lam Dong with more than 100. By contrast, Hue participated with just 9 athletes, including 5 in sparring and 4 in poomsae, making it the smallest contingent at the tournament.

Despite being the tournament’s smallest contingent, the Hue Taekwondo team delivered an impressive performance by winning 2 gold medals, 1 silver medal, and 1 bronze medal. The two gold medals in sparring were claimed by Nguyen My and Vinh Tien, helping Hue rank 20th out of 31 participating provinces and cities.

By restructuring its team, after 3 consecutive seasons of participation, Hue Taekwondo won gold medals at this playground in its fourth season. The result bodes well for the next generations of athletes and its long-term potential, especially as Taekwondo in particular and Hue sports in general are facing mounting pressure from “stronger and larger teams” from other cities and provinces following recent administrative mergers. 

By Han Dang