World champ Tuấn a Victory Cup nominee

HA NOI — World champion Thach Kim Tuan has been nominated for the Victory Cup Award, considered Viet Nam’s top honour in sports.

Tuan won three gold medals at the International Weightlifting Federation World Championships in California last month. The 23-year-old also won gold medals at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in September and Southeast Asian Games.

Besides Tuan, who will vie for the award of best male athlete, the event’s organising board has named five other athletes, including female martial artists Truong Thi Kim Tuyen and Nguyen Thi Ngoan who have recorded great achievements in taekwondo and karate respectively. Tuyen and Ngoan will vie for the best female athlete award.

Tuyen, 18, who was born in the southern province of Vinh Long, won the silver medal in the world championship and bronze medal in the world cup.  Ngoan of the Military team bagged a gold medal at the Karate 1-Premier League in Halle/Leipzig, Germany, making her the first Vietnamese martial artist to win the title in this prestigious tournament.

The Victory Cup is the biggest national prize for athletes and coaches who have competed and brought home success in 2017.

Competitors will vie for titles in 10 categories, including best coach and best athlete with disabilities, as well as best team and best sports moment.

There will be two rounds of voting. The winners will be those who receive the most votes through messages from fans and the judges.  The awards ceremony will be held on January 16 in Ha Noi. — VNS