Athlete Pham Tien San (Vietnam) on May 15 beat 12 other competitors from seven regional countries to finish first in Duathlon as part of the ongoing 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games).

Entering the race, San maintained his top position along with Indonesian athletes. He later quickly overtook the Indonesian opponents and kept to speed in all stages of the competition.

He reached the finish line after 1 hour 55 minutes 58 seconds, securing the gold medal. Both Ferbriade Rudi and Johan Jauhari of Indonesia won the silver and bronze medals with a time of 1 hour 56 minutes 12 seconds and 1 hour 57 minutes 36 seconds, respectively.

This is the first time a Vietnamese athlete has won a gold medal in Duathlon (running-cycling-running) – an Olympic sport introduced in Vietnam in recent years.

Regional Duathlon athletes are competing for two sets of medals for individual men and individual women in Quang Ninh province. At this SEA Games, they will experience 10km run, 40km cycling and 5km run.

SEA Games 31: Singapore’s gymnasts put end to seven-year medal drought

The men’s gymnastics team of Singapore on May 13 grabbed its first medal since the 2015 SEA Games on home soil. 

The team scored 297.65 points to secure a bronze at the ongoing SEA Games 31 while host Vietnam triumphed with 331.25 points at the competition held in Hanoi’s Quan Ngua Sports Palace.

Captain Terry Tay said regardless of the colour of the medal, it was a feat itself, saying that really has been a journey.

He was also part of the team that won bronze in the same event at the 2015 SEA Games but said the two moments could not be compared.

Each competition has its own charm and he was happy to have the current team behind him to push together, the Straits Times quoted the gymnast as saying.

SEA Games 31, themed “For a Stronger South East Asia”, is being held in Hanoi and 11 neighbouring provinces and cities until May 23.

It features 40 sports with 523 events, attracting around 10,000 participants. The biennial event was initially slated for late 2021 but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SEA Games 31 women’s football: Vietnam cruise to semifinals

Female Vietnamese footballers stunned their Cambodian opponents 7-0 in a Group A match on May 13 evening, progressing to the semi-finals.

After defeating the Philippines 2-1 two days ago, hosts Vietnam need only one point in their clash with Cambodia to stay atop Group A. But coach Mai Duc Chung’s students actually did more than that with a reserve team.

Nguyen Thi Van opened the score for Vietnam with a header in the 7th minute before her teammates Pham Hai Yen, Tuyet Dung, Duong Thi Van, Ngan Thi Van Su and Tran Thi Thu scored five other goals in the second half.

It was Nguyen Thi Van who went on to score another brace for Vietnam in the second half.

The visiting players could hardly resist as they are weaker than the Vietnamese hosts in all aspects.

By beating Cambodia 7-0, Vietnam entered the semi-finals as Group A winners. Their opponents in the semi-final match would be either Thailand or Myanmar.

Brunei bags first gold in wushu

Brunei has landed its very first gold medal of the Games.

Mohammad Adi Salihin Roslan won the men's taolu nanquan (southern boxing style ) event on May 14. He topped the ranking table with 9.71 points at the Cầu Giấy District Gymnasium in Hà Nội.

He brought Brunei their first medal after missing out on May 13 when he finished fourth in the nandao (southern broadsword) event.

Harris Horatius of Indonesia came second with 9.70 points.

Việt Nam's Nông Văn Hữu took third place with 9.69 points. This was his second bronze, taking one in the nandao category.

In another class, Dương Thúy Vi completed a double, winning her second gold of the Games.

Vi topped the ranking with a 9.7-point performance in the women’s qiangshu (spear) event.

Her first was in the jianshu (straight sword) on May 13.

"I am pleased but also had high pressure competing on home turf. But I always try to perform the best for myself and the nation," Vi said.

Her teammate Đặng Tiểu Bình scored 9.69 points and placed third. Sandy Oo of Myanmar finished second with the same points but better sub-points.

The taijiquan gold medal went to athlete Alisya Mellynar of Indonesia.

Her team grabbed another gold in the men's daoshu (broadsword) and gunshu (cudgel) combination through Seraf Naro Siregar.

The men's taijijian (tai chi sword) gold was taken by athlete Jun Kai Chan of Singapore.

The wushu will continue with sanshou (combat) events. Men will fight in the 56kg, 60kg, 65kg and 70kg classes, while women will compete in the 48kg, 52kg, 56kg and 60kg pools. 

The wushu will conclude on May 16. 

VN win gold in running, javelin

Nguyễn Thị Oanh took two running golds on May 14 at the Mỹ Đình Stadium during the first day of SEA Games 31's athletics in Hà Nội.

She defended her title in the women's 5,000m event with a time of 16min 44.06. Her teammate Phạm Thị Hồng Lệ came second, and Joida Gagnao of the Philippines came third. 

Earlier in the morning, Oanh also defended her title in the women’s 1,500m event after finishing with a time of 4min 14.98sec.

Her teammate Khuất Phương Anh came second in 4:26.90, and Singapore representative Goh Chui Ling was third in 4:33.41.

It was Oanh’s third time winning these two events at the SEA Games.

This year in the 1,500m event, she ran about three seconds faster than three years ago in the Philippines but was about 1sec slower in the latter event.

“I am happy to win the first gold medal for Việt Nam in athletics. I hope that it will be a good start for the track-and-field team. Together we will complete and exceed our assigned target,” Oanh said.

While Oanh is a veteran in the 5,000m event, Lệ is a new face. She often runs the 10,000m and the marathon.

Oanh will participate in the women's 3,000m steeplechase to defend her title on May 15. Meanwhile, Lệ will run in her favourite 10,000m.

In other categories, newbie Lương Đức Phước grabbed a gold in the men's 1,500m with a time of 3:55.37.

His teammate, Việt Nam national champion Trần Văn Đảng came second, and Filipino Alfrence Braza was third. 

In the men's javelin, Nguyễn Hoài Văn finally found the highest position on the podium. His final attempt of 70.87m brought him gold.

Abdul Hafiz of Indonesia and Melvin Calano of the Philippines were second and third, respectively.

Văn first took part in the SEA Games in 2019, earning a bronze.

In the mixed 4x400m event, Việt Nam failed to defend their title, losing out to Thailand in the last half-metre. 

Bodybuilder Mách wins gold aged 46

Vietnamese bodybuilder Phạm Văn Mách on May 13 won a gold medal in bodybuilding in the men's 55kg weight division at the age of 46.

In the men's 55kg weight division, Mách competed with Azri Bin Asmat Safri (Malaysia) and Kyaw Min Than (Myanmar).

As the competition ended, the crowd couldn't guess which athlete would win gold. But the crowd exploded when the judges announced that Mách had won.

This is the first time in 17 years that Mach has won gold at the SEA Games.

Before the competition, he was pleased and excited to be on the participating list.

To prepare for the region's biggest sports event, he has spent at least two hours practising every day.

He is one of the oldest athletes in the team and attended the Games held in Việt Nam 19 years ago, in 2003, when he brought home his first gold medal.

Despite the disadvantage of age, with the experience of competing for many years, Mách has completed his target of winning gold.

Speaking after the match, Mách could not hide his happiness. He said that he felt a lot of pressure before the tournament as his opponents were all younger than him and had shown great improvement.

"After the SEA Games, I will compete in a bigger tournament, the Asian tournament to be held next July," he said.

"I will be back in training after the Games to compete at the SEA Games in 2023. Of course, every year, the competition will be different, so I will try my best.”

In the men's 65kg division, athlete Đặng Thanh Tùng won the gold medal. The silver medalist in the weight category was Pongsiri Prommachan (Thailand), and Malvern Abdullah (Malaysia) took bronze.

In the men's 60kg division, the gold medalist was Jiraphan Pongkam of Thailand. Vietnamese athlete Phạm Văn Phước took silver and Kasem Rattanaporn (Thailand) won bronze.

At the end of the first day of the competition, the Vietnamese bodybuilding team won two out of three gold medals and one silver, a surprising success for the country's bodybuilding team.

Perseverance pays off for pencak silat star Hà

Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà couldn't stop her tears after winning gold in the women’s regu (trio) seni (performance) event at the SEA Games 31.

This was an achievement 14 years in the making.

The trio of Vietnamese martial artists (Hà, Nguyễn Thị Huyền and  Vương Thị Bình) performed perfectly in just three minutes on Wednesday, without any errors, to get 9,965 points for victory.

Việt Nam’s pencak silat has had many medals in performance events in regional, continental and world championships in the past decades, but for Hà, she had to wait for 14 years to enjoy a special moment of victory in the regional biggest sports event.

“I played as if I had nothing to lose because I just thought that I had to try my best to contribute to the audience when the Games are held at home. This is also the gold medal that I have been waiting 14 years for. For the first time, I have gained the gold medal in such a special atmosphere,” Hà said.

“In fact, at the SEA Games 2017, I, Huyền and Nguyễn Thị Thúy received gold medals four months after the end of the Games, because Thai athletes were doping so the gold medal went to Vietnamese,

"However, this victory is very different, very special for me because I was awarded the SEA Games gold medal at home after 14 years of hard work," Hà said. "Playing at home, despite the pressure, we have more confidence and determination. We thank our coaches for training and accompanying us in every event.”

After veteran martial artist Thúy retired from competition, Hà became the leading player in the women’s performance and took the responsibility of leading young athletes. In the matches at the Games 31, although she didn’t say it, she showed signs of psychological pressure, especially after her defeat in the final of the women's duo event which took place just before the final women’s trio event only 30 minutes.

But at the right moment, Hà’s skill and spirit were proved when she led her teammates to perform an emotional contest to take gold.

For Bình, the youngest player in the trio, this is her first SEA Games after being selected to replace senior Thúy.

“I have the least time to practise for the Games and also recently joined the team with Hà and Huyền to compete. They are the ones who guide and help me a lot. The performance was perfect thanks to their skill and spirit," Bình said.

According to coach Nguyễn Thanh Tùng, the athletes showed their great effort in the Games. The change in rules with knockout matches brought a lot of pressure and requires athletes to maintain stability to win gold.

“Hà performed her role well in the competition and the victory in the performance event relieved some of the pressure on the team’s goal before the combat events took place," Tùng said.

After winning the gold medal, Hà came to hug and kiss her family who had travelled long distances to cheer her on. She also thanked her father - who played an important role in her life and career.

Hà was born in a rural area in Bắc Giang Province. Her father, Nguyễn Văn Thảo, took her to martial arts from the seventh grade. Over the past 15 years, Hà has always considered martial arts an indispensable part of her life.

“Hà is my second daughter. When she trained in Hà Nội, she often took advantage of going home twice a month. Every time she came home, she was not afraid of any difficulties to do farming to help her parents. She loves her parents very much so she does everything to help us,” Thảo said.

“Perhaps this is the time when my family and I feel most honoured and proud when Hà’s efforts have been rewarded with one silver and one gold medal at the Games held at home. My family is very happy,” Thảo added.

Last year, Hà got married and thought about retiring. However, because of the desire to devote herself to the country's sports, she had to put aside her plans. 

VNG supports triathlon team at SEA Games 31

VNG Corporation signed a sponsorship deal worth VNĐ1 billion(US$43,478) for the Provisional Vietnam Triathlon Federation, to support the best conditions for triathlon athletes at the SEA Games 31.

The triathlon, which is made up of swimming, cycling and running, was officially added to the SEA Games 30 in the Philippines in 2019. Highly challenging in both endurance and strength, the sport has become more and more popular in Việt Nam and is a part of the SEA Games 31. It will take place in Tuần Châu, Quảng Ninh Province.

With the goal of cheering the spirit and jointly developing the country's sports community, VNG will accompany the Provisional Vietnam Triathlon Federation with a sponsorship package, serving the organisation, operation and care of Triathlon and Duathlon athletes in 2022 to support the 31st SEA Games.

The sponsorship package includes support for athletes and members of the Provisional Vietnam Triathlon Federation to train and compete, and organising activities in 2022 under the management of the federation, said a VNG representative, adding it would be a spiritual gift to encourage athletes to compete and win medals for the Vietnamese team. 

The technology platform for professional sports events, TrueRace of VNG, is the exclusive technology partner, supporting duathlon and triathlon events organised by the federation. 

Phạm Minh Quang, a representative of the Provisional Vietnam Triathlon Federation, said: "The road to putting Việt Nam name on the world map of triathlon may be difficult, but I believe this type of sport will thrive in Việt Nam in the coming time. The companionship from companies and corporations is also a great motivation for us to develop the community and support the young talents of triathlon."

SEA Games 31: Vietnam beat Malaysia 7-1 in men’s futsal

The Vietnamese men’s futsal team crushed their Malaysian rivals 7-1 in their second match at SEA Games 31, which took place in the northern province of Ha Nam on May 14.

After a 1-1 draw with Indonesia in the first match, the Vietnamese squad showed their high determination in this match with Malaysia.

After a surprise goal by Muhammad Aidil Shahril of Malaysia in the second minute, Minh Tri equalised for Vietnam just one minute later.

Thinh Phat scored two more goals for Vietnam in the 5th and 14th minutes.

In the 18th minute, Quoc Nam scored the fourth goal for Vietnam and Manh Dung broke Malaysia’s net only 1 minute later.

In the second half, the Malaysian team almost failed to approach Vietnam’s net.

Thinh Phat and Duc Hoa scored two more goals in the second half, sealing a 7-1 victory for Vietnam’s men futsal team against Malaysia.

Previously, the men's futsal team of Indonesia also defeated Myanmar with a score of 6-0.

On the same day, U23 Singapore tied 2-2 with Malaysia in a match at the Thien Truong stadium in the northern province of Nam Dinh.

With this result, Malaysia got 7 points, while Singapore had 5 points after three matches in the first round.

Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/VNN