Vietnam finished top of the medal table at the 2026 Southeast Asian Fencing Championships, which closed on the evening of 23 October in the northern province of Quảng Ninh. The hosts won 27 medals, nine gold, three silver and 15 bronze, according to SGGP and the Vietnam Sports Administration. The Philippines came second with two golds, seven silvers and three bronzes, and Cambodia third with one gold.
The championships, held at the Quảng Ninh Sports Complex in Tuần Châu ward, featured 12 individual and team events across épée, sabre and foil. The Sports Administration said more than 180 fencers from five countries took part: Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Cambodia. Vietnam therefore took nine of the 12 titles on offer.
Two team golds on the final day
SGGP reported that the last day, 23 October, brought Vietnam two more golds, in the men's team sabre and the women's team épée. KBVN+ compiled the table from SGGP and the Sports Administration:
| Event | Vietnam's result | Team | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's team sabre | Gold (Vietnam 1) | Lê Văn Bàng, Nguyễn Văn Quyết, Nguyễn Xuân Lợi, Phan Anh Dương | Beat the Philippines |
| Women's team épée | Gold (Vietnam 1) | Đỗ Hà Giang, Nguyễn Thị Kiều Oanh, Trần Thị Thúy Trinh, Vũ Thị Hồng | Beat Vietnam 2 |
| Men's team foil | Silver | Cao Minh Duyệt, Hoàng Hải Nam, Lê Thành Tài, Nguyễn Văn Hải | Lost to the Philippines |
Malaysia and Vietnam 3 shared bronze in the men's team sabre. The women's épée final was an all-Vietnamese contest, with Vietnam 1 beating a Vietnam 2 side of Đoàn Trần Bảo Thy, Lê Thị Ngọc Tuyền, Nguyễn Kim Ngân and Nguyễn Phương Kim.
Medal table and the road to the title
| Rank | Team | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vietnam | 9 | 3 | 15 |
| 2 | Philippines | 2 | 7 | 3 |
| 3 | Cambodia | 1 | not published | not published |
Neither source gave Cambodia's silver and bronze count, or the results of Singapore and Malaysia.
- Early in the week: Vietnam won their first three golds in individual events.
- 23 October: two team golds and a silver in the men's team foil final took the final count to nine golds, three silvers and 15 bronzes.
- 2027: Malaysia will host the next edition, under a plan already approved, the Sports Administration said.
The Philippines were the hosts' main rivals, collecting the most silvers, losing the men's sabre team final to Vietnam and winning the men's foil team final against them.
What it means for Vietnamese fencing
Nguyễn Hồng Đăng, who oversees fencing at the Vietnam Sports Administration, told SGGP the event was of a high technical standard, that every competing nation had fought hard for medals, and that it gave the coaches a chance to measure Vietnamese fencers against their direct regional rivals.
Depth was a theme. Vietnam fielded several teams in the team events, met themselves in the women's épée final and still had a third sabre team, Vietnam 3, on the podium. The event was organised by Quảng Ninh's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism with the Sports Administration. Deputy department director Nguyễn Thanh Tùng, who headed the organising committee, said the technical, security and medical arrangements met international competition rules.
What comes next
The next Southeast Asian Championships will be held in Malaysia in 2027, with Vietnam arriving as the top nation from Quảng Ninh; dates and venue have not been announced. Read our earlier report on Vietnam's first three golds of the championships.