体坛英语新闻：First world traditional martial arts championships to be held in Vietnam

HO CHI MINH CITY, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The first world traditional martial arts championships will take place in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City from July 24-30, the World Federation of Vietnamese Traditional Martial Arts (WFVV) said Wednesday.

The week-long event is expected to attract over 800 participants from over 30 countries and regions, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Algeria.

The WFVV was established in 2015, with the first term of its organizing committee comprising of 56 members from 30 countries and regions where Vietnamese martial arts are popular.

Vietnamese martial arts are being taught and practiced in at least 45 countries around the world, attracting millions of practitioners.

Vietnam will propose UNESCO to recognize Vovinam, a world-famous Vietnamese martial art, as the world's intangible cultural heritage, Le Hai Binh, deputy general secretary of the Vietnam Vovinam Federation, also spokesman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at the International Vovinam Meeting 2016 in Ho Chi Minh City in January.