Hanoi (VNA) – The competitions on December 18 afternoon at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand brought strong emotions for the Vietnamese delegation, highlighted by a historic gold medal from the women’s futsal team and a long-awaited victory by the men’s sepak takraw squad after more than 20 years.
In the women’s futsal final, Vietnam delivered a dominant performance, defeating Indonesia 5-0 to claim their first-ever SEA Games gold medal after finishing runners-up in five consecutive editions. This was also Vietnam’s 72nd gold medal at SEA Games 33.
Thanh Ngan shone with a brace within the first seven minutes, before Thuy Trang and K’Thoa added further goals to give Vietnam a commanding 4-0 lead in the first half. In the second half, Indonesia took risks with a power-play strategy and conceded the fifth goal from a precise long-range shot by goalkeeper Nguyet Vi.
In the men’s four-player sepak takraw event, Vietnam overcame Myanmar 2-1 in a tense final to secure their first SEA Games gold medal in this sport after 22 years. The quartet of Nguyen Hoang Lan, Nguyen Van Ly, Vuong Minh Chau and Ngo Thanh Long won the first set 15-9, lost the second by the same scoreline, before clinching the decisive third set 15-12.
Meanwhile, the Vietnamese women’s sepak takraw team earned a silver in the four-player team event after a 0-2 loss to Thailand in the final.
In the men’s volleyball semifinals, Vietnam narrowly lost to Indonesia 2-3 after a dramatic contest, and will compete for the bronze medal on December 19.
In chess, Vietnam enjoyed a successful day, advancing to the semifinals in three events: men’s rapid maruk chess team, men’s rapid chess doubles, and women’s rapid chess doubles. The semifinals and finals will take place on December 19, with hopes of bringing home at least two gold medals for the Vietnamese delegation./.
VNA
