Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese athletes on December 12 enjoyed another outstanding afternoon at the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, securing three additional gold medals in taekwondo, karate, and shooting.
In the women’s under-73kg taekwondo final, Bac Thi Khiem dominated her Philippine opponent Delo, winning 2-0 with scores of 12-6 and 11-1.
Soon afterwards, on the karate mat, Khuat Hai Nam shone in the men’s 67kg Kumite event, defeating Thailand’s Chanchang 6-1. His explosive display added another gold medal and contributed to an emotional and memorable day for the national team.
Karate also earned a silver medal thanks to Chu Van Duc. Despite a determined effort against Malaysia’s Kaliana in the men’s 55kg final, he was beaten 0-4 and finished as the runner-up.
Earlier, shooters Le Thi Mong Tuyen and Nguyen Tam Quang clinched gold in the mixed 10m air rifle team event after a tense final, overcoming strong pressure from hosts Thailand to win 16-14. In the qualifying round, the pair also topped the standings with 624.7 points, 1.3 points ahead of the Thai team.
Nguyen Hong Minh, head of the Vietnamese delegation at the 33rd SEA Games, said this is not a traditional strength of Vietnam’s shooting team while Singapore and Thailand are usually the strongest contenders. The gold medal won by Tuyen and Quang is therefore particularly valuable.
The victory also marked the first gold for Vietnam’s shooting squad at this year’s Games, providing a crucial morale boost ahead of the women’s 10m air rifle and 50m rifle events, in which Tuyen will continue to compete./.
