Weightlifter grabs Vietnam’s first Olympic gold at Youth Games
By Vu Duc - The Saigon Times Daily
HCMC - Vietnamese weightlifter Thach Kim Tuan on Monday clinched the first Olympic gold for Vietnam at the Youth Olympic Games 2010 that kicked off in Singapore on Saturday.
Tuan lifted a total of 256 kilograms in the men’s 56-kilogram category, beating his Chinese opponent Xie Jiawu, who had to be satisfied with the silver at 254 kg. Smbat Margaryan from Armenia brought home the bronze medal with 243kg.
Kim cleared 140kg on his third and final attempt in the men’s 56kg clean and jerk to secure Vietnam’s first ever gold medal at any Olympic competition. He had lifted 116kg in the snatch at Toa Payoh Sports Hall on Sunday.
The 16-year-old athlete was the first Vietnamese to win a ticket to the Olympics after his successful performance in the World Youth Weightlifting Championship’s cadet category. Tuan won a gold and two silver medals at the 2009 Junior Asia Championships and three silver medals at the 2009 Junior World Championships.
Meanwhile, Tuan’s team mate Nguyen Thi Hong, who has also won a gold medal at a world junior weightlifting tournament, finished fourth in the women’s 48kg with a total lift of 151kg, two kilograms less than Rodriguez from Venezuela who grasped the bronze medal.
In this category, Tian Yuan from China won the gold medal with 190kg, and Pramongkhol Sirivimon from Thailand took the silver with 163kg.
Also on Sunday, Vietnamese badminton player Vu Thi Trang beat Choe Hye In from South Korea 2-1, while Nguyen Huynh Thong lost 2-0 to a Turkish rival.
The Vietnamese sports delegation to the Games has 13 athletes in the seven events of taekwondo, weightlifting, badminton, wrestling, shooting, swimming and track-and-field.
Besides weightlifter Thach Kim Tuan, taekwondo athlete Nguyen Thach Thao is also expected to grab an Olympic medal. Thao, who earned her ticket after winning a bronze medal at the Games’ qualifying round held in Mexico in March, will compete in the women’s 55kg taekwondo category.
Meanwhile, Nguyen Thi Kim Tuyen and Tran Tam Nguyen are set to compete in the women’s 100m and 200m butterfly and in the women’s 100m and 200m freestyle events respectively. Talented Hoang Quy Phuoc, who is a wild card entry, will compete in the men’s 100m and 200m freestyle events.
Vietnam’s medal achievements at the Olympics so far have been Tran Hieu Ngan’s silver medal in the women’s taekwondo at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, while Hoang Anh Tuan took the silver in the men’s weightlifting competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The games feature some 5,000 athletes, aged from 14-18, and officials from the 205 National Olympic Committees, competing in 26 sports for 184 sets of medals. The games will close on August 26.