Unarmed Martial Arts Festival kicked off

(Bqp.vn) - Senior Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty, Chief of the General Staff, Deputy Defence Minister chaired the opening of the Unarmed Martial Arts Festival of the whole army 2014 on December 12th at Mieu Mon National Training Center (Hanoi), with the attendance of leaders of relevant agencies and nearly 500 athletes from 20 military units and educational institutions.

Sr. Lt. Gen. Do Ba Ty presenting tokens to athletes.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Lieutenant General Nguyen Quoc Khanh welcomed delegates, officials, coaches, referees and athletes and wished the athletes best results under the spirit of unity.

Lt. Gen. Nguyen Quoc Khanh opening the festival.

The unarmed martial arts festival this year aims to evaluate the results of physical training and sports activities of units in the whole army, serving as the basis for the expansion of unarmed martial arts and improvement of training quality, improving soldiers’ health. This is also an opportunity for athletes to exchange and learn from experience.

Martial arts performance of the Commandos.

Participants in this 7 days-event consisting of male commissioned and non-commissioned officers and defense employees will compete in nine weight categories from under 51kg to 80kg while female commissioned and non-commissioned officers and defense employees will compete in six weight categories, from below 51kg to 64kg, and the enlisted soldiers competing in nine weight categories, from below 51kg to 80kg.

Athlete Nguyen Van Minh (red) of Military Zone 3 won the match in the 68kg category.

The competitions started soon after the opening ceremony, and at the end of the first day of competition, 22 athletes were selected to go on to the next round.

Huu Khoi