National Kurash Tournament: New opportunity for young athletes

Reporter: Sir, this is the first time Binh Thuan has hosted the Kurash Martial Arts tournament - this is a fairly new sport that the locality has never had for a while, so are there any difficulties with the organization?

The first National Kurash Youth Championship in 2024 is the first competition held in Vietnam, and Binh Thuan province is honored to be the first locality in the country to be awarded the right to host the event by the Department of Sports and Physical Training. This is a fairly new sport and the movement has not been as strongly developed as other local sports, but over the years we have researched and put it into training for athletes. Judo is gradually approaching this sport, so in recent times, many Kurash athletes from the province have participated and achieved many achievements.

At the 9th National Sports Festival in 2022, athlete Nguyen Nhac Nhu An won a gold medal in the women's weight category under 48kg. Athlete Dang Thanh Thuan won a silver medal in the men's under 66kg weight category. Especially athlete Phan Truc Phi won a silver medal in the men's 66kg weight category at SEA Games 31st.

With approaches and early conversance with Kurash tournaments as well as experience in organizing sports events in recent times, we will proactively coordinate well with the Department of Sports and Physical Training and other sports delegations to cooperate toward a successful tournament in terms of organization and professional work.

Reporter: Kurash is one of the oldest wrestling disciplines in the world with old origins. Can you share more specifically about the format and content of the competition for audiences?

According to our research, Kurash is a traditional wrestling sport of Uzbekistan (in Uzbek, "Kurash" means "accomplishing the set goal). Kurash has a history of about 3,500 years, originating from first appearing in the area that is the territory of Uzbekistan nowadays. After thousands of years of development, the first event of this sport was held in 1928. Until 1998, the main International Kurash Association (IKA) was officially founded. A year later, the world championship of this sport was held in Tashkent in 1999. It was not until 2018 that Kurash occurred at the Asian Games held in Jakarta and Palembang - Indonesia. At the 30th SEA Games in the Philippines, this was the first time Kurash appeared. There were a total of 10 sets of medals awarded. The outstanding Vietnamese Kurash team won 7 gold medals - 1 silver medal - and 2 bronze medals.

Two potential Kurash athletes of Binh Thuan

Kurash is played on the floor with Judo. The competition rules of these two sports have many similarities. Therefore, many athletes of Kurash originally came from Judo. The participants wear dark blue or green yakhtak clothes and bare feet on stage.

During the competition, Kurash does not accept attacks below the waist. An athlete competing in Kurash will have 3 ways to score points (named Halal, Yonbosh and Chala moves). Accordingly, a participant who successfully executes the first Halal attack will immediately win. To score a Halal point, the athlete must wrestle the opponent over their back with "sufficient" force and speed.

Notably, if an athlete's wrestling move is not enough to be scored as a Halal move, the technique will be graded as a Yonbosh move. Two successful Yonbosh attacks will combine into a Halal attack, helping the wrestler immediately win. Finally, there is the Chala strike. The rules do not specify how many Chala strikes an athlete needs to win.

In case the referee announces a throw without a result, he will wave his hand twice or thrice, this action is called Bekor. During the competition, if an athlete violates the rules, the match referee can issue three penalties: Tanbekh, Dakki, and Girrom with increasing levels. Getting Girrom means that the competitor will be disqualified.

Reporter: So, Binh Thuan already has a force of athletes specializing in Kurash or will we utilize the Judo force athletes competing this season to find out potential participants?

Recently, the Judo Coaching Committee has trained and coached Judo athletes to gain early access to rules and tactical techniques to quickly get acquainted with Kurash; At the same time, athletes are sent to training centers and localities where the Kurash movement is thriving to learn. Therefore, our athletes are now quite fully equipped with the rules and tactics in this subject. With the advantage of being the host unit as well as having quite well-prepared forces, we sent 73 young athletes (25 female) to participate in the first national Kurash youth championship in 2024.

Reporter: Recently, two athletes Nguyen Nhac Nhu An and Nguyen Thanh Hoan became famous for their success in this field. So how believe are you about the young generation of athletes and the potential for Kurash in the future?

The fact that two athletes Nguyen Nhac Nhu An and Nguyen Thanh Hoan of Binh Thuan were called up to the national Kurash team along with the proactive outreach efforts of the Judo Coaching Board in recent times, we believe that Binh Thuan will have a generation of Kurash athletes capable of participating and achieving high achievements in the regional, national and international arenas.

Reporter: Is it hosting the Kurash youth championship this time to prepare the force to attend major international tournaments in 2024?

This youth tournament is a first step for Binh Thuan athletes to have the opportunity to practice tactics and train in physical and mental health to become more fearless in large-scale and quality events. Successfully competing at the 1st National Kurash Youth Championship in 2024 will open up opportunities for young athletes to soon participate in influential sporting events regionally, nationally, and internationally, particularly, the 6th Indoor Sports Festival in Thailand and world championships.

Thank you, Sir!