Finishing third overall with 278 medals (87 gold, 81 silver and 110 bronze), Vietnam has many reasons to be proud, as a new generation of athletes has truly come of age and is ready to shoulder national aspirations.
The Vietnamese sports delegation concluded the 33rd SEA Games with an impressive haul of 87 gold medals, 81 silver medals, and 110 bronze medals, finishing third overall in the medal standings.
Themed “The Sound of Champions”, the event conveyed a powerful message of determination, success, and friendship among athletes from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The quartet of Nguyen Huy Hoang, Vo Thi My Tien, Nguyen Kha Nhi and Mai Tran Tuan Anh delivered a determined and well-coordinated performance, crossing the line first in 1:12:18.
Shooter Ha Minh Thanh clinched an individual gold medal and shattered the Games record, while athletes across multiple sports also added medals to the national tally.
The three major goals are maintaining and enhancing Vietnam’s position among the region’s leading sporting nations; achieving breakthroughs in key sports, particularly Olympic disciplines; and projecting the image of a civilised, professional and disciplined delegation to the international community, Minh said.
The gold medal is Vietnam’s first SEA Games football title since 2021. This time, the achievement carries added significance: under Kim Sang-sik, Vietnam have claimed three regional titles within a single year.
On December 18 evening, after Vietnam’s U22 team staged a dramatic 3-2 comeback against host Thailand to claim the gold medal in the men’s football event at the 33rd SEA Games, huge crowds across the country flooded the streets, waving flags, cheering, and celebrating the victory.
The Vietnamese trio of Nguyen Le Hoang Vu, Nguyen Anh Tri and Pham Tien San outpaced strong regional rivals in a tightly contested race. Each athlete completed a 2km run, an 8km cycling leg and a 1km run before handing over to a teammate.
Vietnam enjoyed one of its most explosive competition days at the 33rd SEA Games on December 17, winning a remarkable 16 gold medals across multiple sports, closing in on Indonesia in the medal table and reinforcing its position among the leading delegations.
December 17 marked one of Vietnam’s most successful days at the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, with the country's athletes claiming gold medals in several of their traditional strengths, including rowing, shooting, and pencak silat.
The spotlight fell on Nguyen Tan Sang, who produced a disciplined performance to retain his SEA Games crown in the men’s 75–80kg pencak silat final.
Rowers brought home the first gold of the day for Vietnam, as Ho Thi Duy had an outstanding performance in the women’s lightweight single sculls, finishing first with a time of 9 minutes 08.053 seconds, a full six seconds ahead of her Philippine rival.
The highlight was the convincing victory of the women’s 4x400m relay team as Hoang Thi Minh Hanh, Nguyen Thi Hang, Le Thi Tuyet Mai, and Nguyen Thi Ngoc crossed the finish line first in 3 minutes 22.59 seconds.
Clearing the 1.86m bar, not only did Bui Thi Kim Anh lock in the gold medal, but she also set a new personal best, revealing her rapid progress and growing maturity on the regional stage.
The victory sends Vietnam's U22 confidently into the 33rd SEA Games final, keeping their hopes of gold firmly alive.
With the double triumph, Vietnam’s wushu team fulfilled its medal targets at the Games.
Vietnam's martial arts teams continued their strong performance on December 13 at the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand, with karate and taekwondo leading the charge through multiple gold medals.
Nguyen Thi Ngoc secured one more gold medal for Vietnamese athletics in the women’s 400m final, which featured Ngoc and her teammate Hoang Thi Minh Hanh competing against athletes from Thailand and the Philippines.
Also on December 11, Vietnamese MMA athletes delivered impressive performances, securing two gold medals, one silver and two bronzes in their debut appearance at SEA Games 33.