The Vietnamese sports team won seven more gold, eight more silver, and seven more bronze medals in shooting, karate, chess, boxing, bodybuilding, billiard, weightlifting, and swimming events on December 14 at the 27th SEA Games in Myanmar, but still failed to maintain second rank in the medal tally.
-va-Luu-T.jpg "Two golden boxers of Vietnamese boxing team: Ha Thi Linh and Luu Thi Duyen (right). (Photo: SGGP)")
On December 14, the first gold medal of the day was won by shooters Le Thi Hoang Ngoc, Trieu Thi Hoa Hong and Nguyen Minh Chau in the women’s 10m team air pistol event with 1,118 points. This was the third gold medal for the Vietnamese shooting team at the SEA Games this year.
Shooter Nguyen Minh Chau won a gold medal in the women’s 10m individual air pistol event with 195.6 points, one point higher than the Singapore runner-up, while her team-mate, Le Thi Hoang Ngoc, won a bronze medal.
Karate athlete Vu Thi Nguyet Anh was the champion in the women’s Kumite 50 kilogram weight event after defeating her Indonesian competitor Srunita, in the final, gaining the third gold medal for the Vietnamese karate team.
Despite a draw with Malaysia in the final round of the women’s Kumite 68 kilogram weight event, Pham Thi Tien only got a silver medal as she dealt less blows and was weaker in technique than her rival.
Karate athletes Tran Minh Duc, Nguyen Ngoc Thanh and Bui Nhu My each won a bronze medal in the men’s Kumite events for 61 kilogram weight division, 67 kilogram weight division, and 84 kilogram weight division, respectively.
Chess players Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son and Nguyen Van Huy took two top positions in the men’s blitz chess event with Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, winning a gold medal after a victory against Susanto from Indonesia.
In the women’s blitz chess event, chess player Hoang Thi Bao Tram only won a silver medal in a tie with Indonesian rival Medina Aulia, in the 15th match. Sukandar, Medina Aulia’s team-mate, won a gold medal with 0.5 points higher than Hoang Thi Bao Tram.
Luu Thi Duyen became the first Vietnamese female boxer to win a gold medal in the SEA Games after defeating her Thai rival in the women’s 60 kilogram weight event. Two years earlier, she had won a silver medal in the 26th SEA Games in Indonesia.
In the women’s 64 kilogram weight division, boxer Ha Thi Linh, who is participating in the SEA Games for the first time, gained the second gold medal for the Vietnamese boxing team after beating her Burmese rival.
Meanwhile, boxer Nguyen Thi Yen was not able to pass Sopida Satumrum from Thailand in the women’s 51 kilogram weight event, and won only a silver medal.
Bodybuilder Nguyen Van Lam claimed the first gold medal for bodybuilding although he was not as highly appreciated as his team-mates, namely Nguyen Anh Thong and Pham Van Mach, who won a silver medal in the men’s 60 kilogram weight division and a bronze in the men’s 55 kilogram weight division, respectively. Earlier, Nguyen Anh Thong triumphed at the fifth World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championships 2013 which was held in Hungary last November and Pham Van Mach was the runner-up.
Hoang Quy Phuoc bagged a silver medal in the men’s 400m freestyle swimming event after losing to Malaysian rival, Henry Bego.
Meanwhile, Nguyen Thi Anh Vien earned a silver medal in the women’s 100m backstroke swimming event and a bronze medal in the women’s 800m freestyle swimming event.
Weightlifter Nguyen Hong Ngoc obtained a silver medal in the men’s 77 kilogram weight division.
Billiard player Doan Thi Ngoc Le got a bronze medal after losing in the semifinal of the women’s individual nine-ball pool event.
At the end of the seventh of the 27th SEA Games, Vietnam dropped to fourth position in the medal tally with 29 gold, 23 silver and 33 bronze medals while Thailand jumped to top position with 33 gold medals, followed by Myanmar with 31 gold medals and Indonesia with 30 gold medals.
