Vietnam's only wushu athlete in Dakar, Nguyen Khac Le Hoang, scored 18.692 in the men's taijiquan combined final for silver, 0.028 behind champion Poon Hao Ran. It was Vietnam's first medal of the 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

Vietnam had only one place in the wushu tournament of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, and Nguyen Khac Le Hoang turned it into the country's first medal of the Games. On 3 November he took silver in the men's taijiquan combined with 18.692 points, finishing just 0.028 behind Hong Kong, China's Poon Hao Ran (18.720).

The final was the closest of wushu's four Olympic debut events. Japan's Kawamura Shiki took bronze with 18.663, only 0.029 behind the Vietnamese athlete.

Video: Olympic Games / YouTube, scenes from the Dakar 2026 wushu finals

From fourth to silver

Le Hoang had been fourth of the 12 athletes after the preliminary round with 18.586. In the final he improved on both routines, scoring 9.346 in taijiquan, third best in that routine, and another 9.346 in taiji fan, second best, to climb onto the podium.

The 2008-born athlete arrived in Senegal in strong form. Earlier in 2026 he won gold at the World Taijiquan Championships in Bulgaria, according to Tuoi Tre and Vietnam.vn, which also report a gold medal for him at this year's World Junior Wushu Championships.

A first for Vietnam in Dakar

Vietnam sent 10 athletes in seven sports to Dakar, with wushu and beach wrestling seen as its best medal chances. Vietnamese media report that Le Hoang has little time to celebrate: he is due to compete next at Vietnam's National Sports Games.

Poon Hao Ran's winning run: Poon Hao Ran wins Hong Kong, China's first-ever Youth Olympic gold.

Sources: Tuoi Tre News, Vietnam.vn, VOV, Lao Dong, Olympics.com.

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