Vietnam surpasses target after taking 81 golds
Hopes of men’s football victory dashed
By Vu Duc - The Saigon Times Daily
|
| Runner Truong Thanh Hang celebrates after winning the women's 1,500 meter event at SEA Games on Thursday |
HCMC - Vietnam grabbed 20 more gold medals on the penultimate day of the 25th SEA Games in Laos, remaining second with a medal tally of 81 golds, 71 silvers, and 57 bronzes.
On Thursday alone, Vietnam took a total of 20 golds, 16 silvers and 10 bronzes, surpassing their target at the Games. The country aimed to win 65-70 gold medals.
Thailand remained on top with 84 golds, 80 silvers and 95bronzes. While Indonesia came third after taking 43 golds, 53 silvers and 73 bronzes. Fourth-placed Malaysia secured 40 golds and the fifth-positioned Philippines got 37 golds.
Le Thi Phi Nga opened a golden day for the Vietnamese sport delegation with a gold in the pencak silat event. Nga defeated Boutsadi from Laos in the final game of the women’s under 50kg category.
|
| Vietnamese men football players show their sorrow after losing the SEA Games final game at the Main Stadium of the National Sports Complex in Vientiane, Laos on Thursday - Photos: TTXVN |
Le Thi Hong Ngoan, Huynh Thi Thu Hong and Nguyen Thi Phuong Thuy bagged three more golds for Vietnam’s pencak silat team in the women’s 70kg, 55kg and 65kg categories respectively.
Nguyen Ba Trinh brought home the fourth gold in the men’s under 60kg category while the sixth gold medal went to Vu The Hoang in the men’s 80kg category.
The pencak silat athletes gained six victories after competing in eight final games. Tran Van Toan and Tran Van Mao just clinched the silver in the men’s under 55kg and under 75kg categories. So far, Vietnamese pencak silat athletes took six golds, four silvers and one bronze at the Games, one more than originally expected.
The Vietnamese artists brought home five golds in the wushu event in the day. Do Thi Nhan, Tan Thi Ly and Nguyen Thuy Ngan grasped the golds in the women’s sanshou 45kg, 56kg and 52kg categories.
Tran Van Kien and Vuong Dinh Khanh also contributed two more golds for the wushu team in the men’s sanshou 48kg and 70kg categories. However, Tran Duy Phuong and Nguyen Thi Oanh failed to secure the gold in the women’s sanshou 48kg and 60kg categories. The another silver went to Phan Van Hau in the men’s sanshou 52kg category.
Vu Dinh Cuong and Truong Thanh Hang showed their excellent performance at the Games when they dominated in the track and field event. Cuong finished first in the men’s 1,500 meter event with the time of 3’36’’57 while Hang clocked at 4’19’’47, securing the gold in the women’s 1,500 meter event.
Bui Thi Hoa grabbed the gold medal for the judo team in the women’s under 63-kilogram category and Nguyen Thi Nhu Y also took the gold in the women’s under 78kg category.
Wrestlers took home four more golds for the Vietnamese sporting delegation last afternoon. Nguyen Huy Ha, Pham Duc Khang, Nguyen The Anh and Ha Van Hieu dominated in the men’s 55kg, 50kg, 60kg and 120kg categories.
In fin swimming event, Nguyen Thi Quynh grasped the last gold for Vietnam in the day in the women’s 200 meter surface event. Vietnamese swimmers so far gained eight golds, eight silvers and three bronzes at the Games.
* The biggest disappointment for Vietnam was the defeat of the men’s football team on Thursday when they failed to secure their first title at the SEA Games championship. The Vietnamese side just received the silver after losing 0-1 to Malaysia at the Main Stadium of the National Sports Complex in Vientiane.
Malaysia U-23 men’s football squad, who reached the final after beating hosts Laos 3-1 in Monday’s semi-final, went to the clash full of confidence after knocking out eight-times defending champions Thailand 2-1 in the group stage to win a place in the semi-finals.
But the Vietnamese boys, who earned a 4-1 victory over Singapore in the other semi-final, also moved closer to their first title, having already beaten Malaysia 3-1 during the group stages on December 6.
The Vietnamese played aggressively at the beginning of the game, while the Malaysian men played defensively and relied on counterattacks. Vietnamese forwarders failed to make their way to the Malaysian net and the first half ended goalless.
Despite strong attacks, both sides also created some scoring chances in the second half but their players also lost all the chances, leaving the score at 0-0 until Norshahrul Idlan Tahala scored the only goal for the Malaysian side in the last minutes.
The Vietnamese defenders made many mistakes in the second half and the lucky victory came courtesy of an own goal by defender Mai Xuan Hop in the 85th minute. Malaysian player Safiq Rahim’s cross hit team mate Norshahrul Idlan Tahala in which the ball rolled passed the Vietnamese defender and goalkeeper Bui Tan Truong.
Vietnam’s Mai Tien Thanh nearly scored in injury time when he weaved his way through the Malaysian defense line but his shot hit the crossbar.
Malaysia has ended their 20-year wait for the SEA Games gold medal. The country last won the SEA Games football trophy in 1989 in Kuala Lumpur when Singapore were the defeated finalists.