Vietnam retains third place on SEA Games 30 medal tally hinh anh 1

Swimmer Anh Vien bags two more gold medals for Vietnam on December 7

 

 

 

Nguyen Thi Anh Vien won both the women's 400m freestyle and 100m backstroke events, defending her titles comfortably.

The 23-year-old clocked 4min 13.20sec in the 400m freestyle. Gan Ching Hwee of Singapore and Natthanan Junkrajang from Thailand were second and third, respectively.

In the latter race, Vien finished with a time of 1:02.97. Chloe Kennedy Anne Isleta and Jasmine Alkhaldi, both of the hosts, were the runners-up.

Vien who is expected to win eight titles in this Games will take part in the 400m individual medley. She is the defending champion.

Meanwhile, taekwondo martial artists took two golds in poomsae (performance) disciplines.

The experienced Chau Tuyet Van and her four teammates triumphed in the freestyle mixed team. The Vietnamese group of five won over the jury and spectators with a stunning performance that earned 7.799 points, leaving the other teams far behind.

The Philippines took 6.866 points to place second and Indonesian got 6.799 points for their third seat.

Minutes later, Nguyen Thi Mong Quynh topped the women's individual freestyle poomsae with 7.433 points. Olivia Janna Dominique of the hosts and Laosoongnearn Sakuna of Thailand were second and third, respectively.

The taekwondo poomsae team also took two silvers and two bronzes in other classes. The fighters will start their competitions on December 8.

In the morning, the table tennis team ended a 10-year title drought after they won in the men's doubles event.

Duo Nguyen Anh Tu and Doan Ba Tuan Anh defeated Chua Josh Shao Han and Pang Yew En Koen of long-time dominating Singapore 3-1 in the final.

It is considered a historic mark for not only Vietnam but also Southeast Asia as Singapore have dominated table tennis for years after they naturalised many Chinese players.

Other gold medals on the day went to the judo squad who won in the women's team who defeated Indonesia 3-2 in the final, while Truong Thi Phuong took her second title after winning the women's 200m canoeing.

The athletics team won their first gold at the Games after finishing first in the 4x400m mixed relay. They finished in a time of 3min 19.50sec, setting a record as it was the first time this event had been held.

Olympic winner Hoang Xuan Vinh secured a silver but he will be disappointed as the men's 10m air pistol is his strong suit.

Vinh was No 1 seed of the event and he led until the last three shots. But poor final shots dropped him to second position with only 239.6 points, 0.9 points less than winner Kulchairatt Pogpol of Thailand.

It was the second time in a row Vinh has failed in a SEA Games. Two years ago, he also finished second, losing to Malaysian Jonathan Wong.
To date, Vietnam has bagged 159 medals, including 45 golds, 50 silvers and 64 bronzes.

The host Philippines still ranked first with 89 gold, 67 silver and 65 bronze medals. It was followed by Indonesia with 50 golds, 49 silvers and 58 bronzes./.VNA