Huế youth chess tournament: Gia Lai scores big at regional championship

As Lunar New Year approaches, communes across the province are ramping up preparations for a series of traditional boat racing festivals, preserving a long-held cultural heritage as communities welcome the Year of the Horse 2026.

A cluster of unexpected mid-season resurgences from relegation-threatened clubs, led by Hoàng Anh Gia Lai (HAGL), has injected fresh unpredictability into the 2025–2026 V-League campaign, tightening the bottom-half race and reshaping the league’s competitive landscape.

Striker Nguyễn Đình Bắc has made tournament history after sweeping six individual awards at the AFC U23 Asian Cup, marking an unprecedented achievement for a Vietnamese footballer in an AFC competition.

Vietnamese cueist Nguyễn Quốc Nguyện has clinched the PBA Tour championship, marking his most significant victory nearly four years after entering the elite professional circuit.

The 2026 Youth Basketball Club Championship, set to run from February 6-8 in Gia Lai Province, is expected to showcase emerging young talent as 24 teams prepare to compete across primary, lower-secondary, and upper-secondary divisions.

Demand for pickleball coaches is rising sharply as the sport expands rapidly across the province, drawing new players to structured training programs offered by former badminton, tennis and table-tennis athletes.

Quy Nhon United Football Club earned a 1-1 draw in their away fixture against Dong Thap FC at Dong Thap Stadium on January 31, marking their comeback after a break of more than three months in Round 8 of the National First Division Football Championship - Bia Sao Vang 2025-2026.

Hoàng Anh Gia Lai (Hoàng Anh Gia Lai FC) face a decisive relegation showdown on Sunday as they host SHB Đà Nẵng FC at Pleiku Stadium, with only one point separating the two sides at the bottom of the V.League 2025-2026 table.

Senior Master Nguyễn Văn Cảnh, coach of the Gia Lai provincial traditional martial arts team under the Bình Định Traditional Martial Arts Center, is participating in the 3rd National & South Asia VVFI Training Camp 2026 in India from January 31 to February 5.

LPBank Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) Academy on January 17 launched its 2026 “Future warriors” recruitment festival, drawing nearly 500 candidates under 13 from 28 training centres and community football clubs across Vietnam to the Ham Rong Training Center in Gia Lai province.

Quy Nhon University’s men’s football team booked a place in the play-off round of the 2026 Vietnam Youth and Student Football Championship after finishing top of their group with a perfect record in the Ho Chi Minh City regional qualifiers.

Gia Lai province has approved an expansive plan to restructure and modernize its elite sports system for the 2026-2030 period, aiming to overcome persistent shortcomings in athlete development, facilities, and funding. 

Gia Lai’s athletics team has signalled a strong return to national contention after the administrative merger, winning two gold medals and one bronze at the 2026 National Mountain Marathon “Conquering Ba Ra Peak” and finishing second overall, behind the Military team.

Gia Lai Province has outlined an ambitious plan to strengthen and expand its traditional martial arts movement, following the first congress of the Gia Lai Traditional Martial Arts Federation for the 2026–2030 term held on January 17 at the Provincial Convention Center.

Gia Lai Province hosted its first pickleball tournament for banking sector officials and employees on January 18, drawing nearly 70 participants to the High Five Pickleball court in Pleiku Ward.

U23 Vietnam defeated U23 Kyrgyzstan 2-1 in their second group-stage match at the AFC U23 Asian Cup, strengthening their grip on a quarterfinal place after back-to-back victories.

Đào Hà Tâm Du, a young boxer from Gia Lai province, has established himself as one of Vietnam’s most promising youth athletes after winning four consecutive gold medals at national youth boxing championships, underscoring his consistency, competitive edge and long-term potential.

Among the members of the Vietnam U23 national team participating in the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup Finals, set to take place in Saudi Arabia, Dinh Hong Vinh serves as the chief assistant to head coach Kim Sang Sik, He is also the President of Quy Nhon United Football Club.

Chess player Huy Duy Tấn of Kỳ Ngộ Club clinched the championship title at the 3rd Dam Me Chinese Chess Variant (cờ úp) Tournament 2025, which concluded on the evening of January 3 after more than a month of competition.

Vietnam’s U22 success at the 33rd SEA Games has delivered a timely and emphatic response to long-standing doubts over the effectiveness of Hoang Anh Gia Lai’s (HAGL) youth development system and the vision of its chairman, Đoàn Nguyên Đức, widely known as boss Đức.

More than 1,300 people took part in the APC Green Color Run 2025 on the morning of December 27, an event organised by Asia Pacific International School Gia Lai to promote environmental protection and community health.

A community-based taekwondo club in Vietnam’s Central Highlands has grown into a key talent pipeline for provincial and national teams, combining grassroots training with elite athlete development.

Chi Lăng High School in Hoi Phu Ward, Gia Lai Province, has emerged as a standout example of a strong school sports movement, with football at its core attracting wide student participation and delivering consistent competitive success.

Recently, three coaches from Gia Lai successfully completed the Pro/AFC/VFF 2024/25 professional football coaching course. This is the highest-level coaching program within the training system of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF).