Vietnam tops SEA Judo Championships 2024 with 20 gold medals
The Vietnamese judo team achieved the highest results at the Southeast Asian Judo Championships 2024, finishing first overall.
![The Vietnamese judo team ranks first in this tournament in Indonesia. (Photo: SEAJ) img-9063-962.jpg.jpg](https://image.sggp.org.vn/w1000/Uploaded/2024/negesfjozly/2024_06_03/img-9063-962jpg-7908.jpg)
The team concluded their participation in the Southeast Asian Judo Championships 2024 held in Indonesia with an impressive tally of 20 gold medals, 15 silver medals, and 28 bronze medals. The competition wrapped up on the evening of June 2 in Bali, Indonesia.
This year's event, in addition to the championship categories, also included competitions for youth age groups. Out of the 20 gold medals claimed by the Vietnamese judo team, eight were in the youth categories. The host team, Indonesia, finished in second place.
The Vietnamese judo team brought 75 athletes to this championship. However, the large number of participants was due to localities funding their athletes to compete. The team from the Sports Authority of Vietnam included notable faces such as Nguyen Hoang Thanh, Do Thu Ha, Nguyen Ngoc Diem Phuong, and Nguyen Xuan Phi.
The Southeast Asian Judo Championship gathered over 250 athletes from Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. For the senior categories, the men's competition featured weight classes of 55kg, 60kg, 66kg, 73kg, 81kg, 90kg, 100kg, and over 100kg. The women's competition included weight classes of 44kg, 48kg, 52kg, 63kg, 70kg, 78kg, and over 78kg. For performance (kata), the competition comprised Nage No Kata and Ju No Kata events.
Despite achieving a high position in Southeast Asia, Vietnamese judo still has a significant gap in performance and expertise compared to other countries in Asia and the world. This year, the Vietnamese judo team competed in the Asian Judo Championships 2024 (April 2024) but did not win any medals. Only one athlete, Chu Duc Dat, participated in the World Judo Championships 2024 (May 2024) but was eliminated in the first match.