Two-time SEA Games champion Nguyễn Tấn Sang (right) will defend his men's U80kg pencak silat title in the Thailand Games in December. VNS Photo Quyết Minh
Pencak Silat
Nguyễn Tấn Sang has not only dominated domestic competitions but also made his mark internationally, collecting gold medals at Southeast Asian, Asian, and world tournaments.
Minh Anh
And the winner is... the red corner!
Nguyễn Tấn Sang grinned as the referee raised his arm. With that victory, he became one of the rare martial artists to claim the national pencak silat title five times in a row.
The triumph has further fuelled Sang’s ambition to win a third consecutive SEA Games gold this December in Thailand.
The 26-year-old has been practising pencak silat – a traditional Indonesian martial art – for over a decade. Competing in the U80kg weight class, traditionally not a strong suit for Vietnamese fighters due to smaller average body frames, Sang has nonetheless carved out a formidable reputation.
He has not only dominated domestic competitions but also made his mark internationally, collecting gold medals at Southeast Asian, Asian, and world tournaments.
Remarkably, just four years after he began training, Sang clinched his first international gold at the 2019 Asian Championship in China, helping Việt Nam top the overall medal tally. He followed this with a gold at the 2022 Southeast Asian Championship and an effortless victory at the 31st SEA Games.
“It was a fun and lucky gold,” Sang recalled of that SEA Games final, when his rival, Sheik Ferdous Bin Sheik Alau'ddin of Singapore, was injured in the semi-finals and unable to compete. “It’s thanks to my hard work, my teammates and coaches, and especially my family.”
He acknowledged that recent rule changes in pencak silat had posed challenges. “I’ve had to adapt to new techniques and systems, which hasn’t been easy,” Sang said. “But I stay focused and train every day to adapt to the changes and get better.”
If the 31st SEA Games gold came with a stroke of luck, his title at the 2023 Games proved his calibre. After being stretchered off following his semi-final, Sang returned to defeat Sheik Ferdous 26-(-2) in a dominant performance at Phnom Penh’s Chroy Changvar Gymnasium.
“Regional rivals have improved a lot, and every match was tough,” he said. “But with the support of my team, especially after my injury, I managed to defend my title.”
In 2023, Sang also captured gold at the Asian Championship and contributed to Việt Nam’s ten-gold haul at the World Championships, helping the team finish top overall.
He will defend his Asian crown in June and his Southeast Asian title in August – two crucial milestones ahead of the 33rd SEA Games.
“My goal is to deliver the best results at every tournament this year, especially winning SEA Games gold,” Sang said. “I’m training hard, monitoring my physical and technical form, studying international opponents, and learning from them.”
Looking further ahead, Sang is also preparing for life beyond the ring. A graduate of the Sport Coaching Department at the HCM City University of Physical Education and Sports, he now serves as an assistant coach on his home team.
“I’ll continue to train and compete while also learning to become a coach. I want to help nurture the next generation of talented athletes,” he said. "I will try to maintain my training and competition, gaining more achievements. I will also learn about coaching job to support my trainers in finding and training talented athletes to succeed."
"Sang's mission to win gold would be a big challenge this Games," coach Trần Huỳnh Thanh Quốc said.
"The men's U80kg class always featured strongest fighters. He will be against powerful ones from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore.
"Sang is given the best conditions to reach his peak for the upcoming Games. He is asked to bring into play his strong points and flexibly apply what he learnt from training to have the highest results," Quốc said.
