Mr. Truong Ngoc De has been elected Chairman of the Vietnam Taekwondo Federation for the third time in a row

After being elected, Truong Ngoc De, the Chairman of the VTF, is interviewed – Photo: N.K

Mr. Truong Ngoc De served as Chairman of the VTF for the fourth term (2013-2017) and fifth term (2017-2021). And now, as Chairman for a sixth term (2022-2026), he will be the longest-serving person in the VTF's history. Mr. De is also the only martial artist in Vietnam who holds the World Taekwondo Academy's 9th degree belt (Kukkiwon).

The VTF Executive Committee maintains the same number of commissioners as in the previous term for the 6th term. The only difference is that Vice Chairman and General Secretary for the 5th term, Mr. Vu Xuan Thanh (Deputy Director of the Department of High Performance Sports I – Vietnam Sports Administration), was not elected to the executive committee for a new term by the congress. This was quite surprising.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Huy, Head Coach of the Vietnam Taekwondo Team, as well as VTF's Deputy General Secretary and Chief of Staff for the 5th term, replaces Mr. Thanh.

Mr. Nguyen Dang Khanh, Director of the Ho Chi Minh Training and Competition Sports Center (Ho Chi Minh Sport Center), has joined the VTF as the new Vice Chairman. Mr. Khanh was elected after being placed on a last-minute voting list with one other person. Mr. Nguyen Dang Khanh, the former head coach of the Vietnam Taekwondo team, is expected to bring a more positive face to Vietnamese Taekwondo in the future.

Pham The Trieu and Ho Chau Tuan, both former Vice Chairmen, are also the VTF's two Vice Chairmen.

The most notable achievement of Taekwondo in the fifth term is female boxer Truong Thi Kim Tuyen, who got a gold medal at the Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament (winning the official ticket to the 2020 Olympics) and a gold medal at the 2021 Asian Championships (under 49kg).

Vietnam Taekwondo also finished first in the entire delegation at the 31st SEA Games, with 9 gold medals, four more than at the SEA Games 2019 in the Philippines.

Speaking at the Congress, Mr. Tran Duc Phan, Deputy Director General in charge of the Vietnam Sports Administration, congratulated and hoped that the VTF executive committee of the new term would bring Taekwondo Vietnam even more success.

As he stated, "The VTF should think about hiring Korean experts. Due to a lack of adequate resources, qualified experts are required. VTF's current experts have fallen short of expectations in comparison to countries with strong movements. Furthermore, in the new term, we must strive for a good record. For example, in the upcoming Asiad, Vietnamese Taekwondo may not win gold medals, but silver medals are achievable in order to lay the groundwork for future growth. "

Following the games, the VTF will host four Asian tournaments at the Military Zone 7 Competition Center, which will be inaugurated on August 22nd. The 4th Asian Junior Taekwondo Championship, the 6th Asian Youth Taekwondo Championship, the 4th Asian Junior Championship, and the 7th Asian Disabled Taekwondo Championship are all taking place.