Vietnam traditional martial arts (Vovinam) will be an official sport at the upcoming ASEAN University Games.

Vovinam which is practised by many students in ASEAN countries will be an official sport at the coming ASEAN University Games in Myanmar

Southeast Asian Vovinam Federation Vice President Nguyen Binh Dinh said that the University Games’ organisers on January 7 agreed to add Vovinam as an event at the festival.

"We lobbied for Vovinam during a meeting with the organisers and representatives of different relevant bodies in Myanmar, the hosts of the Games. And it is a great news that they agreed with us," Dinh was quoted as saying on Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper.

According to Dinh, one of the reasons that convinced the organisers was that Vovinam had been strongly developed in many countries in the region, such as Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia and Myanmar. Among the Vovinam trainees, many are students.

As a result, Vovinam will be one of the 17 martial arts at the December Games.

There will be 17 sets of medals available at the competition: 10 for performance and seven for combat events.

The Southeast Asian Games in 2011 and 2103 included Vovinam. It was also a sport at the Asian Beach Games in 2016.-VNA