Vietnamese athletes continued to win more medals at the 27th SEA Games on December 13 in shooting, weightlifting, wrestling, karate, badminton, canoeing, cycling and pentaque.
In the men’s 50m pistol event, shooters Hoang Xuan Vinh, Trang Quoc Cuong and Nguyen Hoang Phuong nailed the first gold medal for Vietnam with 1,649 points.
In the men’s 56 kilogram weightlifting, Thach Kim Tuan won a gold medal for lifting 285 kilograms. The 19-year-old weightlifter broke the SEA Games’ record after clearing 129 kilograms in the first snatch lift. He continued to succeed in the first clean and jerk lift with 146 kilograms. He broke another SEA Games’ record after he was able to lift 156 kilograms.
Weightlifter Le Quang Trung bagged a silver medal in the men’s 62 kilogram weightlifting while Do Thi Thu Hoai only got a bronze medal in the women’s 48 kilogram weightlifting for 176 kilograms, losing against Burmese and Thai competitors in 188 kilograms and 177 kilograms respectively.
Wrestler Can Tat Du claimed a gold medal in the men’s 74 kilogram weight division. It only took him a minute and two seconds to beat his Thai rival by 7-0.
Wrestler Vu Thi Hang gained another gold medal for the Vietnamese team after beating Sriprapa from Thailand by 7-0 in the 48 kilogram weight division. Thus, wrestling team has so far earned ten gold medals in the 27th SEA Games.
 VA CU DA LAY VANG .jpg "Karate athlete Lang Thi Hoa (red belt) defeats her Indonesian rival Pertiwi Wiwi by 8-0 in the women’s 68 kilogram weight Kumite event to win a gold medal (Photo:SGGP)")
Karate athlete Nguyen Hoang Ngan brought in a gold medal in the women’s individual Kata event after beating her Indonesian competitor, Syafrudin Yulianti, by 5-0. Karate athlete Lang Thi Hoa crushed her Indonesian rival Pertiwi Wiwi by 8-0 in the women’s 68 kilogram weight Kumite event, grabbing third gold medal of the day.
Karate athletes Hoang Kim Ngan, Do Thi Thu Ha, and Nguyen Thanh Hang only collected a silver medal in the women’s Kata event, losing to the Burmese team by 1-4. After the final, Vietnamese karate athletes burst into tears, saying that the referees were not impartial.
Athlete Hoang Quy Phuoc failed to defend his title, taking a silver medal in the men’s 100m freestyle swimming event. Athlete Nguyen Thi Anh Vien also won a silver medal in the women’s 400m freestyle swimming. Meanwhile, Tran Duy Khoi and Phan Gia Man unexpectedly won a silver medal in the men’s 200m medley swimming event.
In the women’s individual badminton event, Vu Thi Trang earned one more bronze medal for Vietnam after heavy loss in two sets against Thai athlete Ongbamrungphan Busanan, world’s number 22 and top seed of the event.
Badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh unexpectedly lost to his Indonesian competitor Rumbaka Dionysius Hayom, obtaining a bronze medal in the men’s individual badminton event.
Cyclist Dinh Thi Nhu Quynh failed to defend her title, winning only a bronze medal in the women’s cross-country cycling event as she got cramps in the last lap.
Rower Tran Van Long and Nguyen Thanh Quang each won a bronze medal in the men’s C1-200m canoeing event and the men’s K1-200m kayak event. Rower Nguyen Thanh Quang was the champion of the men’s K1-200m kayak event in the 26th SEA Games in Indonesia. Quang had just resumed practice since August after nearly four months off to treat his cardiac ailment. He had won a silver medal in the men’s K1-500m kayak event a day earlier.
Ho Quoc Phu and Thach Tuan Thanh won a bronze medal in the men’s couples’s petanque event after losing to Thai athlete with 2-13 in the semifinal. The same situation happened in the semifinal of the women’s pentanque event when Son Thi Thanh Cha was defeated by her Cambodian rival to get only a bronze medal.
The Vietnamese sports delegation has now so far won 22 gold, 13 silver, and 19 bronze medals at the 27th SEA Games.
