The professional Khmer martial arts event of TV5 Cambodia took place in the suburbs of Phnom Penh, Cambodia on the evening of March 9. The tournament is organized by the Cambodia kickboxing Federation.
With great similarities in playing style and rules, the Vietnamese kickboxing team has sent many representatives to participate, notably the two fighters Nguyen Minh Hieu, 60 kg, and Nguyen Dinh Minh Khue, 54 kg.
In the men's 60 kg class match, Nguyen Minh Hieu, 2024 Asian champion, will meet Nov Vanthorn of host Cambodia. Entering the first half, Minh Hieu with his quick total attack almost surprised everyone when he defeated Nov Vanthorn to the floor in the first attacks.
After this situation, Nov Vanthorn was more cautious and forced to give up the game to Minh Hieu to keep the pace of the match. After winning, the Vietnamese fighters confidently approached to take advantage of their height to be able to launch quality hand punches.
Entering the second half, the game between Minh Hieu and Nov Vanthorn became more balanced when both fighters caught each other's cards. However, with reasonable tactics, Minh Hieu sometimes pushed his opponent to the floor, thereby creating dangerous situations, making it difficult for Nov Vanthorn to defend.
In the third half, Minh Hieu had a slight change in tactics. He mainly attacks the opponent with quick kicks, then keeps the distance and ends with a quality hand-cut combo.
Up to now, Nov Vanthorn has wanted to organize a counter-attack to equalize points, but perhaps because of fear of revealing weaknesses, the closer it got to the end, the more difficult the Cambodian fighter was because his physical strength was no longer guaranteed. In the end, Nov Vanthorn had to accept losing to Minh Hieu after 3 rounds.
In the remaining match, Nguyen Dinh Minh Khue has the opportunity to return the debt he lost to opponent Sok Rith from the Asian Kickboxing tournament in October 2024. Unfortunately, in this rematch, Minh Khue still lost to their opponent after 3 rounds.
One day before, Phung Phu Thuan - a 19-year-old fighter of Hau Giang kickboxing - brought a resounding victory in the first international competition of his career.
Minh Hieu and Minh Khue are both members of the national team, going to Cambodia for training from February 2025, with a total of 14 athletes and 3 coaches.
The whole team applies training according to professional martial arts training programs with an intensity of 10 hours/day, regardless of Saturday or Sunday. This has significantly improved the physical strength and will of the fighters, helping the fighters of Vietnam always have an excited mood every time they compete.
In the near future, the whole team will return to their hometown to prepare for the National Strong Teams Championship, taking place from April 1 to 10.
In addition to domestic tournaments, the main goal of Vietnamese kickboxing this year is to aim for the SEA Games arena taking place in December 2025 in Thailand.
At the 2023 SEA Games, the Vietnam team won 4 gold medals, 4 silver medals and 7 bronze medals, ranking 2nd overall.
