Former leading Vietnamese pencak silat athlete dies at 35
VOV.VN - Huynh Thi Thu Hong, a former leading Vietnamese pencak silat martial artist, passed away on February 4 aged 35 after a short battle with cancer.
She was originally diagnosed with late-stage cancer and died only 10 days after learning about her illness.
Hong was born in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang and first took up pencak silat when she was 13 years old.
Between 2004 and 2010 she played a key role in the Vietnamese national pencak silat team, going on to secure many medals at various regional and international tournaments.
Most notably, in 2009 she won three gold medals in three consecutive games, including the Asian Martial Arts games in Thailand, the Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam, and the 25th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Laos.
During her career as a coach she led the An Giang team to many medal victories in the 2020 national pencak silat championships.
A funeral ceremony for the martial artist is scheduled to be held in her hometown in An Giang province on February 6.