Boxer Nguyen Thi Tam won a bronze medal in the women’s 51 kg event at the ongoing Asian Games (ASIAD) in Jakarta, Indonesia, on August 31.

Scene at the fight between boxer Nguyen Thi Tam (in red) and her rival Pang Chol Mi from the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea

Entering the semifinal round, Tam faced Pang Chol Mi from the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea (DPRK), who she once defeated at the Asian championship last year. 

However, the DPRK boxer had greatly improved and surpassed Tam to advance to the final round.

The Vietnamese boxer concluded her performance with a bronze, which was also the only medal earned by the Vietnamese boxing team at the games.

Tam, 24, said she did her best against such a strong rival.

The athlete added that she was pleased with the result as it was the first time she took part in the ASIAD.

As of 8:45 pm on August 31, the Vietnamese delegation pocketed 4 gold, 15 silver and 18 bronze medals, ranking 16th in the ASIAD medal tally.

The four golds of Vietnam were in pencak silat (men’s tanding 70-75 kg and 90-95 kg), women’s long jump and women’s lightweight quadruple sculls categories.-VNA