Held on the evening of January 29, the Victory Cup Awards, often dubbed the “Oscars of Vietnamese sports”, honoured the country’s most outstanding athletes, coaches and teams across 11 major categories for their achievements over the past year.

Head coach Kim Sang-sik received the Best Foreign Coach award after leading Vietnam’s football teams to three consecutive titles in 2025: the ASEAN Cup, ASEAN U23 Championship and the gold medal at the 33rd SEA Games, as well as the team’s third place at AFC U23 Asian Cup

Striker Nguyen Dinh Bac, 21, a standout player in the AFC U23 Asian Cup and SEA Games 33 was awarded the Young Athlete of the Year title. The Hanoi Police FC player also contributed to the victory of the national team which excellently won the Team of the Year title.

In the Female Athlete of the Year category, shooter Trinh Thu Vinh surpassed strong contenders such as volleyballer Tran Thi Thanh Thuy and karate fighter My Tam to win top position. Last year she bagged a gold medal at the 2025 Asian Cup, 3 gold medals and 3 records at the SEA Games 33.

The race for Male Athlete of the Year was particularly dramatic, featuring many outstanding athletes such as Nguyen Hoang Duc, the Vietnam Golden Ball winner, Ha Minh Thanh who won two Asian Cup gold medals, 2 gold medals and 2 SEA Games 33 records, and Dang Ngoc Xuan Thien, obtaining one Asian bronze medal, one SEA Games 33 gold medal. Shooter Ha Minh Thanh was announced as the winner of the category.

The Coach of the Year title went to Duong Hoang Long, the head coach of the national karate team, who led the senior team to win two Asian Championship gold medals and three SEA Games 33 gold medals.

With impressive achievements including two Asian qualifying standards at the Para World Series Mexico 2025, four gold medals at the 2025 national swimming championships, and four gold medals at the 13th ASEAN Para Games, swimmer Vi Thi Hang became the outstanding Disabled Athlete of the Year.

In the Team of the Year category, the mixed 4x400m athletics relay team, consisting of Ta Ngoc Tuong, Le Ngoc Phuc, Nguyen Thi Ngoc, Nguyen Thi Hang, were honoured for their gold medal and breaking the SEA Games 33 record.

A photo capturing striker Nguyen Dinh Bac putting a Vietnamese army pith helmet on coach Kim Sang-sik during the dramatic victory celebration over U22 Thailand in the SEA Games 33 final was selected as Image/Moment of the Year.

The Victory 2025 Cup continues to maintain the record cash prize for a sports award in Vietnam, with a total value of VND750 million across 11 categories. The highest prize of VND100 million was awarded to such categories as Male Athlete of the Year, Female Athlete of the Year, and Team of the Year.

Vietnam beat South Korea on penalties to finish third at AFC U23 Asian Cup

VOV.VN - 10-men Vietnam defeated South Korea 7-6 on penalties after a 2-2 draw following extra time early on January 24, securing third place at the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026 and marking one of the country’s strongest performances at the continental level.