Gia Lai’s Nguyễn Quốc Nguyện beats Martinez to claim second PBA Tour title

A total of 325 athletes took part in the first “Conquering Pyâu Peak” cross-country race of 2026 in Lơ Pang commune on September 27, tackling 4 km and 11 km courses through steep mountain terrain despite heavy rain at the start.

Gia Lai province has officially transferred the Đak Đoa women’s football team to Hoang Anh Gia Lai Football Club, with the club set to guide the squad from a grassroots model toward a more professional training and competition structure.

The first Gia Lai Provincial Sports Festival since the reorganization and merger of administrative units has highlighted the scale of grassroots sports participation, local competition and the emergence of young athletic talent across the province.

Young talents from Vietnam’s Gia Lai province are making their mark internationally, with a young chess player earning a FIDE title and a high school physics student winning a silver medal at the 2026 European Physics Olympiad.

Nearly 3,000 athletes competed in 21 sports at the first Gia Lai Provincial Sports Festival, which concluded on Sept. 15 after nearly three months of competition across the province.

Nguyễn Thị Loan, a taekwondo athlete from Gia Lai, is the province’s only competitor to qualify for the 20th Asian Games (ASIAD 20) in Japan, capping a decade-long journey from a poor rural community to Vietnam’s national team.

(GLO) – On the morning of September 13, around 8,000 athletes gathered at Nguyen Tat Thanh Square (Quy Nhon Ward, Gia Lai Province) to compete in the VnExpress Marathon Quy Nhon 2026.

Held on September 13, the VnExpress Marathon Quy Nhon 2026, co-organized by VnExpress Newspaper and the Gia Lai Provincial People’s Committee, has concluded. More than 8,000 athletes joined together along the coastal route, striving to achieve their goals and creating unforgettable memories.

More than 370 players took part in the 2026 Expanded Chess Tournament to Welcome the New School Year in Quy Nhon, underscoring the growing popularity of chess and the role of grassroots competitions in developing young talent.

Gia Lai is targeting a strong overall finish at the 2026 National Youth Traditional Martial Arts Championship despite a shortage of athletes that has limited the team’s entries across combat and forms events.

The Lang Bi Quarry Charity Tennis-Pickleball Cup has mobilized more than VND 4 billion (about $154,000) over four seasons, combining competitive sport with support for disadvantaged families, students and communities.

Bong Son Ward is staging its first Ornamental Creatures Festival and inaugural Half Marathon this August, bringing together hundreds of ornamental artworks, nearly 140 commercial booths and more than 500 runners as the locality seeks to showcase its culture, landscapes and local products.

Gia Lai will field two teams at the Toyota Cup 2026 National U9 Football Championship in Quang Ngai province, where more than 300 young players from 28 teams across Vietnam are set to compete.

After more than half a century devoted to traditional martial arts, International Grandmaster Lê Ngọc Quang has played a prominent role in teaching, promoting and developing the discipline in Vietnam and overseas.

As the successor to the late Grandmaster Nguyễn Đức Mộc and the second-generation head of the Sơn Long Quyền Thuật school, Swiss Grandmaster Oliver Barbey has spent decades promoting Vietnamese traditional martial arts internationally.

Gia Lai dominated both forms and sparring at the 2026 National Traditional Martial Arts Clubs Championship, exceeding key performance targets and strengthening its prospects ahead of the National Sports Festival in November.

Authorities in Hội Phú Ward, Gia Lai Province, are coordinating with runner Nguyễn Văn Long to organize a 102-day endurance challenge in which he aims to set a Guinness World Record by running 100 kilometers a day.

Gia Lai’s youth Xiangqi programme continues to show encouraging progress after the province’s young players claimed 101 medals at the 2026 Central and Central Highlands Age Group Xiangqi (Chinese Chess) Open Championship, reinforcing efforts to build a sustainable pipeline of future talent.

The Gia Lai Provincial Youth Union is recruiting 80 volunteers to support the 9th International Vietnamese Traditional Martial Arts Festival - Gia Lai 2026, which will take place from Aug. 2 to Aug. 5 in Quy Nhon Ward and several other communes and wards across the province.

More than 300 young athletes took part in the inaugural Gia Lai Provincial Children's Football and Swimming Championships 2026 from July 17 to 19, showcasing determination, teamwork and sporting spirit in competitions designed to encourage physical activity and healthy development among children.

Spain claimed the 2026 FIFA World Cup title with a 1-0 extra-time victory over Argentina, as Ferran Torres scored the decisive goal to end the defending champions' reign in a tightly contested final.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) have parted ways with Brazilian defender Jairo and midfielder Marciel as the V.League club continues a complete overhaul of its foreign player roster ahead of the 2026-2027 season.

Gia Lai has entered the 2026 Vietnam Xiangqi Federation Cup Championship and National Team Xiangqi Championship with a delegation comprising one coach and eight players, as nearly 180 athletes from 15 teams compete in the national tournament in northern Thai Nguyen province.

Gia Lai authorities are stepping up preparations for the 9th International Vietnamese Traditional Martial Arts Festival - Gia Lai 2026, which is set to bring together hundreds of martial artists from Vietnam and abroad.