Ninth National Games open in Quang Ninh Province

The 9th edition of the National Games opened on December 9 in the northern province of Quang Ninh, with the participation of 65 sports delegations from across the country.

The Games began with an opening ceremony that took place in Quang Ninh’s capital city of Ha Long in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, athletes from the sports delegations, and game officials.

In his opening remarks, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung stated that, continuing the success of the eight previous games, the 9th edition is being held to further enhance public awareness of the role of sports in national construction and defence.

He added that the Games provide a chance to review the development of Vietnamese sport towards the formation of a plan for the coming period.

With its experience in hosting large events, including seven sports at the 2022 Southeast Asian Games, Quang Ninh has been selected as the main venue of the 9th National Games.

The province will host 21 of the 43 sports of the Games between November 18 and December 20.

Quang Ninh Acting Chairman Cao Tuong Huy affirmed that the province always pays attention to human development, especially in enhancing the physical strength and build of its citizens, in which sports lie at the core.

In recent years, Quang Ninh has recorded breakthroughs in building many sports facilities that meet national and international standards, such as the Quang Ninh Sports Complex, Cam Pha Stadium and the provincial sports training centre.

The sports and exercise movement has also grown rapidly, with the percentage of the population doing regular sports rising from 29% in 2015 to over 40% in 2022.

Quang Ninh is among Vietnam’s top ten provinces and cities in terms of high-performance sport.