A friendly Muay Thai tournament between Vietnam and Thailand got underway on September 16 in HCM City featuring six attractive bouts between top kick boxers from both countries.

The tournament was jointly organised by Thailand’s Consulate General and Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The opening night saw several impressive performances recorded by the Vietnamese team’s members, including semi-professional world champion in 2011 and 2012 Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat in the 60 kg category, the 2012 world championships silver medalist Vo Van Dai in the 63 kg category and 2012 Asian gold medal winner Truong Quoc Hung in the 67 kg category.

Other activities such as Wai Kru Muay Thai and Thai martial arts displays and cultural exchanges between the two countries also took place.

The Deputy Director of HCM City’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Mai Ba Hung said that the tournament offers Muay Thai fans to enjoy top competitive matches and gives Vietnamese boxers a chance to test themselves in preparation for the Southeast Asian Games 2012 in Myanmar, as well as the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in the Republic of Korea in 2013.-VNA