Vu Duc Hung and Ngo Minh Kien reached the top 5 EFL and reached the Open quarterfinals at the Asian BP Championship 2026

Vu Duc Hung and Ngo Minh Kien ranked 4th and 5th respectively in the EFL table at the Asian BP Championship 2026, the highest achievement of Vietnamese debaters at this tournament.

Vu Duc Hung and Ngo Minh Kien are currently master's students at the Diplomatic Academy, respectively ranked in the top 4 and top 5 excellent speakers in the EFL (English as a Foreign Language - for candidates using English as a foreign language) table at the Asian BP Championship 2026. The Asian Championship Debate Tournament according to the British Parliament format takes place in Hanoi from August 22 to 29, with 110 teams from 12 countries and territories.

In addition to their personal achievements, Hung and Kien also advanced to the quarterfinals of the Open group, which gathered debate teams regardless of language group. This is one of the highest achievements of the Vietnamese team at the Asian BP Championship ever.

Before participating in this year's tournament, two Diplomatic Academy students won second place in the EFL group at the Asian BP Championship 2022 in Bali, Indonesia. 4 years later, when the tournament was held in Vietnam, the two set the goal of advancing further in the Open group instead of just focusing on the EFL group.

Through the rounds, they had to deal with many topics in different fields, from philosophy, geography, Middle East politics, US domestic and foreign policies to Malaysian socio-economic issues and contemporary culture. As a result, the team of Hung and Kien passed the rounds to win the right to enter the quarterfinals of the Open group. In the individual rankings for the EFL table, the two ranked 4th and 5th respectively.

Asian BP Championship (ABP) is an Asian-level debate tournament according to the British Parliamentary format, held annually for university students. For 17 years, the tournament has been held in 10 countries, with about 80-120 teams participating each season.

2026 is the first time Vietnam hosts the tournament. The competition rounds took place at Hoang Mai Star Secondary and High School, Hanoi, with 110 teams from 12 countries and territories. This year's tournament has the participation of debaters from many Asian universities, including Tsinghua University, Peking University (China), National University of Singapore (NUS), Tokyo University (Japan) and Seoul National University (Korea).

According to the British Parliamentary format, each debate match consists of 4 teams, divided into two sides supporting and opposing a motion. Teams must build arguments, criticize their opponents' points of view and convince the jury within the allotted time.

The EFL board is for candidates who use English as a foreign language, while the Open board is not limited by language background. Being in the Open quarterfinals at the same time and having two members in the top 5 EFL helps Hung and Kien establish the best performance of Vietnamese representatives at the tournament by 2026.

ABP 2026 ends on August 29. This year's tournament was held at Hoang Mai Star Secondary and High School and had the legal sponsorship of Veritas Academy of Debate and Presentation (VADP).