Asia’s leading women boxers Le Thi Bang and Vuong Thi Vy won the Vietnamese National Cup

The Vietnamese National Cup for the elite women and elite men boxers was held in Can Tho which is located in the most Southern part of the country. Vietnam’s strong woman duo Le Thi Bang and Vuong Thi Vy won their weight classes in Can Tho which city saw several surprises in the female and male parts as well.
Women’s boxing in Vietnam is in developing stage while their male boxers are also trying to reach the level of the top Southeast Asian athletes. Vietnam ranked as second in the boxing tournament of the last edition of the Southeast Asian Games in Singapore two years ago ahead of boxing power Thailand.
Ho Chi Minh City will be hosting the 2017 ASBC Asian Confederation Women’s Boxing Championships in November therefore the event was their first selection for the women’s elite boxers to that important continental event. Vietnam is planning to compete with maximum number of 10 female boxers in the forthcoming ASBC Asian Confederation Women’s Boxing Championships.
Altogether 111 women boxers competed in the Vietnamese National Cup which was record in the history of the event. Quan Doi’s Trinh Thi Diem Kieu is an experienced female boxer in Vietnam who advanced to the final of the women’s light flyweight (48kg) and defeated Thanh Binh’s teenage talent Le Thi Huong in the final of the event.
Hanoi’s Nguyen Thi Tam was the favourite at the women’s flyweight (51kg) and she was able to realize her golden chances after beating Quan Doi’s Le Thuy Kieu in the final. Incheon 2014 Asian Games bronze medallist Le Thi Bang moved up to the bantamweight (54kg) and dominated all of her contests in the National Cup.
Former AIBA Women’s Junior World Champion 21-year-old Vuong Thi Vy is an experienced boxer also in the international level in spite of her young age. She has been competing out of Vietnam since 2011 and Bac Ninh’s pride was able to win her final against Binh Duong’s Tran Tuyet Nga at the featherweight (57kg).
Can Tho’s teenage talent Do Hong Ngoc attended in the Olympic lightweight (60kg) in the National Cup and defeated all of her rivals including more experienced Nguyen Thi Ngoc which was a big surprise in the National Cup. Vietnam’s technician Incheon 2014 Asian Games bronze medallist Luu Thi Duyen moved up to the light welterweight (64kg) but Ho Chi Minh City’s pride was able to win her category in Can Tho.
Dinh Thi Phuong Thanh delivered host Can Tho’s next gold medal who defeated Quan Doi’s Le Thi Hong Dao in the final of the welterweight (69kg). Nam Dinh’s Luu Diem Quynh used her strength to win her contests in the National Cup and celebrated her first national elite title following her success over Thanh Hoa’s Tran Thi Linh at the Olympic middleweight (75kg).
National team member and AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships competitor Ngo Thi Chung of Hanoi moved up to the light heavyweight (81kg) following her participation in several international events and dominated her bouts. Hanoi’s 21-year-old Ca Thi Huyen is Vietnam’s best female boxer at the heavyweight (+81kg) who claimed national title in 2016 and repeated that strong performance in Can Tho where she was able to win her final against Tien Giang’s Tran Thi Oanh Nhi.
Men’s boxing also developed well in Vietnam and some of their national team member athletes proved tough performance in the National Cup. Huynh Ngoc Tan is Vietnam’s male No.1 at the light flyweight (49kg) since 2012 therefore his success over five years younger Le Van Cuong was not a surprise in the event.
Bui Trong Thai dominated the national events at the flyweight (52kg) in the recent two years but this time he lost to Hanoi’s veteran Nguyen Kia Gien in the final. Nguyen Van Duong eliminated teenage talent Dao Van Quan in the semi-final of the bantamweight (56kg) and continued his winning series against Hanoi’s Tran Van An in the gold medal bout.
Nguyen Van Chung will be turning to 22 only later this year but Ho Chi Minh City’s pride defeated Quan Doi’s Tran Quang Tan in the final of the lightweight (60kg). Can Tho’s 20-year-old Bui Phuoc Tung eliminated veteran national team member Nguyen Van Hai which was one of the biggest surprise of the men’s part of the National Cup. Following that incredible success Bui was able to beat Vu Thanh Dat in the final of the light welterweight (64kg) as well.
Quan Doi’s Nguyen Van De moved up to the welterweight (69kg) but he adopted the strength of the punches quickly and won that category after beating Ho Chi Minh City’s Tran Duc Tho. Quang Doi’s next top boxer Huynh Ngoc Vien also did successful debut in his new category at the middleweight (75kg) in the National Cup and did not give any chance to An Giang’s teenager Tran Thanh Vy in the final of the event.
Southeast Asian Games winner 27-year-old Truong Dinh Hoang was the favourite of the light heavyweight (81kg) but he was defeated by Hai Phong’s Dang Anh Thinh in the first preliminary round. The gold medal of this category was surprisingly won by Bac Ninh’s 20-year-old Nguyen Manh Cuong who defeated

List of the winners in the Vietnamese National Cup
Women’s 45kg: Nguyen Thi Thu Nhi
Women’s 48kg: Trinh Thi Diem Kieu
Women’s 51kg: Nguyen Thi Tam
Women’s 54kg: Le Thi Bang
Women’s 57kg: Vuong Thi Vy
Women’s 60kg: Do Hong Ngoc
Women’s 64kg: Vu Thi Ngoc Huyen
Women’s 69kg: Dinh Thi Phuong Thanh
Women’s 75kg: Luu Thi Diem Quynh
Women’s 81kg: Ngo Thi Chung
Women’s +81kg: Ca Thi Huyen
Men’s 46kg: Pham Cong Hung
Men’s 49kg: Huynh Ngoc Tan
Men’s 52kg: Nguyen Kia Gien
Men’s 56kg: Nguyen Van Duong
Men’s 60kg: Nguyen Van Chung
Men’s 64kg: Bui Phuoc Tung
Men’s 69kg: Nguyen Van De
Men’s 75kg: Huynh Ngoc Vien
Men’s 81kg: Nguyen Manh Cuong
Men’s 91kg: Vo Van Que
Men’s +91kg: Ta Van Thi