Contributing to this overall success were three athletes from the Hue sepak takraw team: Thuy Linh, Anh Nguyet, and Manh Cuong, who won a combined 6 gold medals and 1 bronze medal with their teammates. Few people know that behind this remarkable achievement lie some rather unexpected stories…
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| From left to right: athletes Tran Manh Cuong, coach Nguyen Van Hien, athlete Tran Thi Thuy Linh, and athlete Dinh Huu Anh Nguyet at the 2026 World Championships in Germany |
The ‘supporting player’
The story is unexpected because, in terms of reputation and achievements at national, regional, continental, and international competitions, Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh is currently the most prominent member of the Hue sepak takraw team, followed by Le Van Dong. Meanwhile, Dinh Huu Anh Nguyet and Tran Manh Cuong have remained relatively ‘in the shadows’ compared with their teammates.
Anh Nguyet was born in 2003. When she was a sixth-grade student at Thuy Phuong Secondary School (now Thanh Thuy Secondary School in Thanh Thuy Ward), she was discovered by coach Nguyen Van Hien during one of his visits to the school to recruit athletes. Through training and competition, Anh Nguyet quickly demonstrated her talent at youth levels before gradually establishing herself at club and national championship competitions, winning a series of gold medals.
However, throughout her competitive career, Anh Nguyet has often been paired with Thuy Linh in the role of blocker, while Thuy Linh specializes in attack. Because of their respective strengths and playing positions, people in the sport jokingly refer to Anh Nguyet as the one who ‘provides the backdrop’, leaving her with relatively few opportunities to shine. As a result, she has also received less attention from the coaches and experts of Vietnam’s national sepak takraw team, despite being in the same age group as Thuy Linh and being no less capable technically.
That is also why this was the first time Anh Nguyet was called up to the national team, as well as her first appearance at the World Championships. Yet she showed no signs of being overwhelmed by the high-level competition. With her quick reflexes, powerful blocking ability, and strong anticipation, Anh Nguyet repeatedly neutralized her opponents’ attacking moves at the net, making a major contribution as Vietnam won two gold medals in the women’s team and women’s four-team events.
The ‘secret weapon’
Discovered by coach Nguyen Van Hien at the city-level Phu Dong Games in 2011, when he was still a student at Nguyen Chi Dieu Secondary School, Tran Manh Cuong, born in 2001, has also played as a blocker. Yet after years of training and competition, his record of achievements remained at zero.
About two years ago, during a conversation about Cuong, it was unusual to see that coach Nguyen Van Hien did not appear impatient about his student’s lack of achievements, which was quite contrary to the usual logic of elimination in competitive sport. When pressed for an explanation, Hien simply said: “It’s like football. Strikers are always better known than defenders. Sepak takraw is the same. But everyone has their own position and role to play. If it hasn’t happened now, who knows, perhaps the results will come tomorrow or the day after…”
Just as coach Nguyen Van Hien predicted, after a long period of being ‘silent’, Tran Manh Cuong finally emerged in early 2026, overtaking teammate Le Van Dong and winning two gold medals at the 2026 National Club Championships.
This achievement earned Manh Cuong a call-up to Vietnam’s national sepak takraw team in preparation for the World Championships in Germany. However, because it was his first time on the national team, the coaches were initially reluctant to put him into the starting lineup, instead having him sit on the bench and learn from his teammates.
The turning point came in the final of the men’s team event against China. After the two sides were tied at 1–1 following two sets, the coaching staff realized that the existing blocker could no longer cope with the intensity of the opponents’ attack. At the beginning of the third set, they decided to bring Manh Cuong onto the court.
Rather than appearing nervous, Manh Cuong immediately demonstrated his strengths. Not only did he block effectively and stop most of his opponents’ attacking kicks, but the Hue athlete also repeatedly recovered the ball, allowing his teammates to launch attacks and score points. His contribution helped Vietnam defeat China 21–16 in the third set, winning the match 2–1 and claiming the gold medal.
Following this outstanding performance, Manh Cuong earned the coaching staff’s trust and was put on court from the very first seconds of the men’s four-team event. Under the round-robin format, his presence, ability to read the game and anticipate opponents’ moves, and decisive ball recoveries made a major contribution to the team’s victories over China, Hong Kong (China), and Macao (China), securing another gold medal. “In these two events, it can be said that Cuong was an important factor that determined the outcome of the matches,” coach Nguyen Van Hien commented.
Following his outstanding performance at the championships, Tran Manh Cuong has established himself as a regular member of Vietnam’s national sepak takraw team. Moreover, according to the coaching staff, his position as a blocker will be very difficult to replace for some time to come.
The future
With 6 gold medals and 1 bronze medal at the 2026 World Championships, this has been a highly successful season and the proudest achievement to date for the Hue sepak takraw team in its participation at international competitions.
Even more encouragingly, according to coach Nguyen Van Hien, while the generation of athletes including Thuy Linh, Van Dong, Anh Nguyet, and Manh Cuong are now at the peak of their careers and can continue contributing to sports in the ancient Imperial Capital and to Vietnamese sport for at least another five years, Hue sepak takraw already has a new generation of successors emerging.
These include Quang Huy and Khanh Hoang, 18-year-old athletes who won gold medals at the 2025 Asian Youth Championships. Looking further ahead, there are also promising young athletes such as Phuong Thuy and Kim Anh, who won gold in the U13 category at the 2025 National Youth Championships. “As long as these young athletes receive systematic investment and proper development, they will continue to help sepak takraw in the ancient Imperial Capital achieve more successes on major stages,” coach Nguyen Van Hien said.