Shooter Trinh Thu Vinh leads Vietnam’s national outstanding athletes of 2025
Vietnam’s 2025 national sports witness a year of historic performances, with athletes and coaches delivering landmark results across regional and continental competitions.
THE HANOI TIMES — Female shooter Trinh Thu Vinh has topped Vietnam’s list of National Outstanding Athletes of 2025, earning 1,272 points after a year of exceptional international success.
Born in 2000, Trinh Thu Vinh continued to anchor Vietnam’s national shooting team, producing a string of elite results that reinforced the country’s standing in high-performance shooting.
Female shooter Trinh Thu Vinh (right) and her teammate celebrate wins at the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand during December 2025. Photos: Ngoc Tu/The Hanoi Times
Her standout moment came at the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand, where she claimed four gold medals and one silver medal. She also broke three SEA Games records in the women’s 10m air pistol individual event, women’s team 10m air pistol and women’s 25m pistol.
No Vietnamese shooter has achieved such a feat in SEA Games history. These performances earned Trinh Thu Vinh the title of the most outstanding athlete of Vietnam’s delegation at the Games.
Earlier in 2025, she added a bronze medal at the Asian Shooting Championships and a gold medal at the Asian Cup, confirming her consistency since placing fourth in the women’s 10-meter air pistol at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Second place in the national vote went to distance runner Nguyen Thi Oanh, born 1995, who scored 761 points after another dominant season on the track.
At the 33rd SEA Games, Oanh secured three gold medals in the 5,000-meter, 10,000-meter and 3,000-meter steeplechase.
The achievement completed a rare gold hat-trick and lifted her career SEA Games gold tally to 15, placing her among the three most decorated athletes in SEA Games athletics history alongside Jennifer Lin Tay of Myanmar and Elma Muros of the Philippines.
Footballer Nguyen Dinh Bac, born 2004, ranked third with 693 points after a breakthrough year.
He helped Vietnam’s U23 team win the ASEAN U23 Championship and the gold medal at the 33rd SEA Games, while also contributing to Cong An Ha Noi FC’s victories in the National Cup and National Super Cup.
Bac also received the Vietnam Silver Ball Award 2025 and the title of Best Young Male Footballer of the Year.
The remaining athletes in the top 10 included canoeist Nguyen Thi Huong, swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang, karate athlete Hoang Thi My Tam, sprinter Nguyen Thi Ngoc, taekwondo athlete Dang Ngoc Xuan Thien, xiangqi player Lai Ly Huynh and runner Bui Thi Kim Anh.
In the Outstanding Coach category, football coach Kim Sang-sik led the rankings with 532 points.
Vietnamese national U22 men's football team, with player Nguyen Dinh Bac and head coach Kim Sang-sik, win the gold medal at the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand.
During 2025, the South Korean coach guided Vietnam’s senior team to the AFF Cup title, led the U23 team to a third consecutive Southeast Asian championship, secured qualification for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship finals and helped the U22 team win gold at the SEA Games.
Other honored coaches included shooting coach Tran Quoc Cuong, swimming coach Nguyen Hoang Vu, women’s football coach Mai Duc Chung and women’s volleyball coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet.
The Outstanding Sports Team of 2025 award went to the national U22 men’s football team, which amassed 1,660 points after a year of sustained progress and major titles.
The women’s 4x400m relay team placed second with 635 points, while the women’s sepak takraw team and women’s beach handball team shared third place with 560 points each.
In the para-sports category, swimmer Vi Thi Hang led with 282 points, followed by powerlifter Le Van Cong and chess player Tran Thi Bich Thuy.
The Outstanding Para-Sports Coach title went to swimming coach Nguyen Dang Vien, followed by athletics coach Dang Van Phuc and chess coach Bui Quang Vu.
The national vote concluded on December 31 and was organized by the Sports Authority of Vietnam under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Sports journalists nationwide cast ballots online on December 30.
Launched in 1978 by Vietnam Sports Newspaper, the annual poll honors athletes, coaches and teams with outstanding achievements and continues to serve as one of Vietnam’s most prestigious sports distinctions.
The 2025 honorees will receive formal recognition at the “Glory of Vietnamese Sports” ceremony, scheduled to mark the 80th anniversary of Vietnam’s Sports Day on March 27, 2026.
