The Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) officially opened yesterday in Turkmenistan’s capital, Ashgabat.

Viet Nam national futsal team vs Chinese Taipei in the opening match of the AIMAG on Saturday. 

The fifth edition of the event will feature 21 sports across 15 venues over 12 days of competition.

More than 6,000 athletes and team officials will be representing 65 delegations.

The 164-member-Viet Nam delegation took part in the opening march with taekwondo martial artist Lam Thi Ha Thanh holding the national flag. The team will compete in 14 of the 21 sports this year.

Before the event officially opened yesterday, several competitions got underway on Saturday.

Viet Nam bagged their first bronze medal in the jujitsu performance event thanks to Dao Le Thu Trang and Dao Thi Nhu Quynh in the women’s doubles.

In futsal, Viet Nam’s men’s team lost to Chinese Taipei 2-1 in the opening match.

Viet Nam controlled the match for most of first half, with Ngo Ngoc Son opening the scoring in the 11th minute.

However, from a Chinese Taipei throw-in the ball struck Quoc Nam’s leg and flew into Viet Nam’s goal, leaving the match tied 1-1 at half-time.

After the break, Viet Nam struggled in and defence, conceding a second goal and allowing Chinese Taipei to run out 2-1 winners.

According to Tran Anh Tu, part of the futsal team’s management unit, Viet Nam didn’t perform up to their ability, missing many chances to score defending poorly.

With this loss, Viet Nam must win all three remaining matches to ensure they qualify for the quarter-finals.

Viet Nam won eight golds, seven silvers and 12 bronzes to rank third, behind China and South Korea in the 2013 edition of the contest in South Korea. 

VNS