VietNamNet Bridge – The World Gymnastics Federation on January 12, announced that Vietnamese gymnast Pham Phuoc Hung won a ticket to the Olympic London 2012 for men’s all-round event.
Previously, Hung did not perform well at the second qualifier round in London and disqualified in the men’s six events. However, he acquired a ticket thanks to his success in men’s all-round event.

In men’s all-round event, the organizing board selected 23 athletes from the top and four from national teams that ranked from the fifth to the eighth to grant 27 tickets.

Vietnam’s Phuoc Hung ranked 26th/27 and became the second Vietnamese gymnast that won tickets to Olympics.

Hung has excelled in competitions recently, winning two gold medals at the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia last November.

Hung, 24, who entered the men's gymnastics programme when he was seven, finished fourth in the men's individual parallel bars at the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Portugal.

The Hanoian, who has been training in China since 1998, will be a contender in the men's all-around competition in the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Viet Nam's first gymnast to win a ticket to the Olympics was 21-year-old Phan Thi Ha Thanh.

Hailing from the northern port city of Hai Phong, Thanh won a bronze medal at the recent world event.

So far, Vietnam has had five athletes who will participate at the Olympics: gymnasts Phan Thi Ha Thanh and Pham Phuoc Hung, Taekwondo artists Le Huynh Chau and Chu Hoang Dieu Linh and Judo artist Van Ngoc Tu.

In addition, Vietnam’s top badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh will surely have a ticket to the biggest sports event of the world though the World Badminton Federation has not made public the list of winners.

S. Tung