Sports

Ten athletes from Vietnam’s Gia Lai province have departed with the national delegation for the 2026 World and Youth Traditional Vietnamese Martial Arts Championships in Cervia, Italy, from September 30 to October 5.

The U10 football team from Sao Viet Primary, Secondary and High School in Gia Lai province have won the Da Nang regional round of the Lotteria Challenge Cup 2026, securing a place in the national final in Ho Chi Minh City on October 17.

More than 350 athletes from inside and outside Gia Lai province will compete in the inaugural Pờ Yầu Summit Conquest Cross-country Race 2026 on September 27, challenging the winding mountain route to Pờ Yầu village in Lơ Pang commune.

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.

Nearly 1,000 athletes from 35 teams across 11 provinces and cities competed in the 2026 Gia Lai Provincial Sports Dance and Entertainment Championship, the 12th Dream Dance Cup Open, underscoring the growing appeal of sports dance in the province.

Dong Quoc Anh, a 12-year-old table tennis player from Gia Lai Province, has emerged as a promising young talent after reaching the top 16 in the 12-13 age group at the 2026 National Youth, Teen, and Children’s Table Tennis Championship.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai Football Club (HAGL) will travel to Thailand for a pre-season training camp from Aug. 11-22, where the Vietnamese side will play five friendly matches, including one against Kanchanaburi, coached by Park Hang-seo.

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.

The 9th International Vietnamese Traditional Martial Arts Festival - Gia Lai 2026 officially opened on Sunday evening at Nguyễn Tất Thành Square in Quy Nhon Ward, featuring a large-scale artistic program celebrating the cultural legacy and enduring spirit of Vietnamese traditional martial arts.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) striker Nguyễn Minh Tâm has been called up to Vietnam's U23 national team for a training camp ahead of the 2026 Asian Games, the club announced on July 24.

Gia Lai's women's team won the bronze medal at the 2026 National U18 5x5 Youth Basketball Championship, which concluded on July 22 in Hue City.

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.