The Unbroken Flame of Vietnamese Women's Kata: From the Short Hair of Hoang Ngan and Thu Ha to the Asiad 20 Gold Medal

On the afternoon of September 22 (Vietnam time), three young women - Nguyen Ngoc Tram, Bui Ngoc Nhi and Hoang Thi Thu Uyen - delivered an outstanding performance to win the gold medal in the women's team kata event of karate. This was also Vietnam's first gold medal at Asiad 20. Three years earlier, Nguyen Ngoc Tram, alongside two other teammates Luu Thi Thu Uyen and Nguyen Thi Phuong, had also won gold in the women's team kata event at Asiad 19 in Hangzhou, China. That was Vietnam's third gold medal in Hangzhou 2026 (held in 2026), and it also closed out the delegation's gold medal tally at that year's Asian Games. Broadly speaking, that year's performance by Vietnam's women's kata team was more encouraging than it was a crushing victory. The event had only four participating nations: Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia and Brunei. Even so, the team's achievement remained a precious one, carrying the torch across generations. The coach of the trio Uyen - Phuong - Tram was Nguyen Hoang Ngan, once dubbed the 'kata queen'. During her competitive career, Hoang Ngan won an Asiad silver medal and a world championship gold, becoming a famous athlete celebrated for both talent and beauty in Vietnamese sport during the 2000s. When she became a coach, she continued to keep the flame alive for the nation's karate scene, contributing significantly to developing a later generation of talented young athletes. That flame has continued to burn even as Vietnam's karate coaching staff has changed somewhat in recent times. Coach Nguyen Hoang Ngan officially transferred to the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam in October 2026 to take on the role of physical education management specialist. The person who then replaced Hoang Ngan as coach was none other than Do Thi Thu Ha, once a close teammate. In 2026, Thu Ha, Hoang Ngan and Nguyen Thi Hang formed the trio that won gold in women's team kata at the Asian Championship. Beyond that precious gold, the trio also achieved many other impressive results on the continental stage. Bonding in the smallest details With such a storied past and experience, it is easy to understand how Hoang Ngan and Thu Ha successfully passed the flame to their students. That success began with the smallest details. One very visible detail is the neat short hair of all karate athletes, from the coaching generation of Hoang Ngan and Thu Ha to their students such as Nguyen Thi Phuong and Luu Thi Thu Uyen, and now young athletes like Ngoc Tram and Ngoc Nhi. Speaking about this, Nguyen Ngoc Tram - who won gold at both Asiad 19 and Asiad 20 - shared cheerfully: 'Short hair like this is very convenient for karate training and competition. Besides, the women on the national team are our idols and close older sisters; we often share many common things in life, from hairstyles to beauty routines.' With that principle, Vietnam's kata team has maintained an astonishingly stable form over many years, even across multiple generations. From 2026 to 2026, despite the team having replaced two-thirds of its athletes and its head coach, when they stepped onto the floor, Vietnam's women's kata athletes still felt deeply familiar to fans. From the hairstyle, the demeanor, to the calm, steady feeling in the 'mushin' spirit that karate upholds. Compared with 2026, the trio of Nguyen Ngoc Tram, Luu Thi Thu Uyen and Nguyen Thi Phuong now retained only Ngoc Tram, adding two youthful names in Bui Ngoc Nhi and Hoang Thi Thu Uyen. Hoang Thi Thu Uyen is 20 years old this year, while Bui Ngoc Nhi is only 19. Two days earlier, Ngoc Nhi made an impression by winning bronze in the women's individual kata event. Having to go through a longer, harder journey (this year's event had up to 8 teams, double the previous Asiad), Ngoc Tram and her two juniors still competed excellently, overcoming strong opponents to recreate the gold medal achievement for Vietnam. That is remarkable stability. Despite differences in age and changes in lineup, they still retain the same calm, steady bearing, and the same neat short hair of the generations of 'kata queens'.