Ho Chi Minh City Targets Gold in Seven Sports at 2026 National Games

Athletes at the 2026 National Sports Games competed across seven sports on November 14.

Ho Chi Minh City aimed for the overall title by targeting high success in three of those disciplines: Vovinam, Judo, and Rudern, vietnam.vn reported.

The day’s competition featured Vovinam, Futsal, Bowling, Tanzsport, Rudern, Judo, and Kickboxen. The event offered a broad look at high-performance competition while allowing athletes to qualify for larger stages, vietnam.vn reported.

“With seven different sports, the competition day on November 14 provided a diverse picture of high-performance sports,” vietnam.vn reported.

Vovinam and Judo Features Diverse Combat Events

Vovinam, a Vietnamese-developed martial art combining hand, foot, and grip techniques with distinctive strikes, featured 26 events, including 14 sparring weight classes and 12 kata competitions. Home advantage positioned Ho Chi Minh City’s martial artists as strong contenders, though 400 athletes from 24 different associations entered the medal contests, vietnam.vn reported.

Judo encompassed 32 events, including individual and team combat alongside kata. The Japanese-derived martial art emphasizes throwing techniques, control, and utilizing an opponent’s strength within an established international Olympic framework, vietnam.vn reported.

Kickboxen combined striking and kicking techniques while requiring physical strength, fast reflexes, and precise hits. The sport features a world championship system that provides fighters of various skill levels with international tournament opportunities, vietnam.vn reported.

Rowing and Futsal Bolster the Sports Program

Rowing served as the first sport to secure two gold medals for Ho Chi Minh City at the 2022 National Sports Games. The overall program spans 65 boating events across rowing, canoeing, and traditional boat racing, vietnam.vn reported.

Performance in rowing and canoeing relies on endurance, technique, and coordinated teamwork within Olympic disciplines, vietnam.vn reported.

Futsal, a five-a-side indoor football variant governed by FIFA, was included with established host-country sports to draw fan interest, vietnam.vn reported.

Bowling and Dance Sport

Bowling required precision and power control as athletes used specialized balls to knock down ten pins at the end of the lane across 12 events, vietnam.vn reported.

Sporttanz covered Latin American and Standard dances across 14 events. Athletes demonstrated technique, rhythm, coordination, and teamwork in a discipline organized by the International Dance Sport Federation and recognized by the International Olympic Committee, vietnam.vn reported.

Sports Schedule Covers Multiple Disciplines on November 14

The events took place on November 14 as part of the 10th National Sports Games 2026, vietnam.vn reported.

The schedule included 26 Vovinam events, 32 Judo events, 65 boating events, 12 bowling events, and 14 sport dance events, vietnam.vn reported.

More on this story: Nguyen Hoang Phi Vu Faces a Demanding Schedule at the 10Th National Games · Nguyen Hoang Phi Vu: Vietnam's Archery Star Aiming for Gold at X National Sports Games