Fencing star to carry Vietnam’s flag at Rio Games hinh anh 1Fencer Vu Thanh An will carry the Vietnamese flag at the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympic Games on August 5. (Source: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - Fencing star Vu Thanh An will carry the Vietnamese flag at the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympic Games on August 5, the Vietnam Olympic Committee has said.

The Asian bronze medallist, who will turn 24 two days after the opening ceremony, will be competing in his first Olympics.

An is said to be a talented player who can be one of the top fencers in Asia.

He won two gold medals at the Southeast Asian Games in 2015, before winning a title at the Asian U23 Fencing Championship and a bronze medal at the Asian competition this year.

An is now training in Rio de Janeiro in preparation for his sabre event.

Vietnam has 23 athletes in 10 sports who have qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympics . Among the 23 athletes, four are competing in weightlifting, four in fencing, two in swimming, two in shooting, two in badminton, two in gymnastics, two in athletics, two in rowing, two in wrestling and one in Judo.

The Rio 2016 Olympics will officially open on August 5 and close on August 22. Around 10,500 athletes from 206 nations will compete for medals in 306 events in 28 sports.

The Vietnam flag raising ceremony will be organised on July 31.-VNA

VNA