The Lao judo team poses at the Lao-Japan Budo Centre last month.  --Photo Lao Judo Federation

Lao judo fighters muscle up for junior champs in Bangkok

Two male and one female judo practitioners are training in Vientiane for the Asian Cadet and Junior Judo Championships in Bangkok, Thailand, which take place from July 18-21.
The team is training at the Lao National Sports Training Centre with coaching from Japanese trainers, and have resumed a regular schedule since returning from the SEA Games in Vietnam last month.
On June 20, the judo team will start training at the Lao-Japan Budo Centre in Vientiane before travelling to Thailand next month.
The Asian Cadet and Junior Judo Championships is the second international event for the team this year. They have enjoyed taking part in competitions again after all events planned for last year were cancelled because of the Covid pandemic.
The enthusiastic junior team hopes to have many more opportunities to compete now that the pandemic has subsided.
The Lao Judo Federation will continue to hold national annual events each year and will select the best young fighters to join the national team for international events in the future.
The Lao judo team won two silver and two bronze medals at the SEA Games in Vietnam last month.
After returning from Thailand, the team will train for the National Games in Xieng Khuang province at the end of this year.
They also plan to compete at the SEA Games in Cambodia next year, as well as at other international events in the future.  
In 2019, the Lao judo team won two silver and one bronze medal at the 30th SEA Games held in the Philippines.

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
(Latest Update June 9, 2022)