Vietnamese martial artist Truong Van Chuong receives a gold medal at the 2026 Sanda World Cup in Macau, China, May 16, 2026. Photo: IWUF
The gold medals were secured by Dinh Van Tam in the men’s 52-kilogram category, Truong Van Chuong in the men’s 70-kilogram division, and Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy in the women’s 56-kilogram class.
Vietnam also earned three silver medals through Nguyen Thi Lan in the women’s 48-kilogram category, Ngo Thi Phuong Nga in the women’s 52-kilogram division, and Hua Van Doan in the men’s 56-kilogram class.
The 2026 edition of the tournament, held over the past several days, saw the six-member Vietnamese team improve on last year’s performance, when it won three gold medals and two silver medals to finish second behind China.
Organized by the International Wushu Federation, the 11th Sanda World Cup featured many of the world’s top athletes from 21 countries and territories in Macau, China.
This screenshot shows the final match between Vietnamese martial artist Dinh Van Tam (L) and his opponent at the 2026 Sanda World Cup in Macau, China, May 15, 2026.
Sanda, also known as sanshou, is a discipline within wushu that combines striking, kicking, and wrestling techniques adapted from various schools of Chinese martial arts into a modern full-contact fighting format.
Widely regarded as one of the most combat-oriented branches of Chinese kung fu, sanda has gained increasing recognition in professional fighting circuits in recent years, with more Western fighters incorporating its techniques into mixed martial arts (MMA) training.
Vietnam has also produced several successful MMA fighters with sanda backgrounds.
The Sanda World Cup is considered one of the most prestigious competitions in Chinese martial arts and a major showcase for modern sanda.
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