After four days of competition, the Vietnamese judo team has won nine gold medals, three times higher than the set target for the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31).

On May 21 alone, Vietnamese judokas pocketed three gold medals, one by Hoang Thi Ha in the under-45kg event, Hoang Thi Tinh in the under-48kg category, and Nguyen Hoang Thanh in the under-55kg event.

Three respective runners-up are Ngamluan Pimngam from Thailand, Muenjit Wanwisa also from Thailand, and Mercado Daryl John from the Philippines.

Coach Nguyen Duy Khanh attributed the success to the high determination of the athletes.

He said that in order to prepare for SEA Games 31, right from 2019, Vietnam formed the national judo team for training. Therefore, Vietnamese judokas have seen great progress and showed good performance, he added.
Judo competitions will continue on May 22.

Hong Thanh breaks two SEA Games records in weightlifting

Vietnamese weightlifter Pham Thi Hong Thanh dramatically secured a gold medal in the women’s 64kg category at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) on May 21, setting two new games’ records in the process.      

The 23-year-old local athlete succeeded in winning the jerk event, with the previous SEA Games record of 98kg being consecutively broken by two weightlifters from Indonesia and the Philippines.

However, in the final attempt Hong Thanh set a new record of 104kg.

In the clean event, she succeeded in lifting 126kg after three attempts, thereby raising her total lift to 230kg and breaking her own record of 214kg set at SEA Games 30 which took place in the Philippines back in 2019.

As a result, Thanh successfully defended her SEA Games title on her home ground.

The silver medal in the women’s 64kg category went to Ando Elreen Ann of the Philippines after she recorded a total lift of 223kg.

Two more gold medals for Vietnam in canoeing/kayak events

Vietnam secured two more gold medals in two canoeing events held in Hai Phong city on May 21, raising the total number of gold medals of the host in this sport at SEA Games 31 to eight.

Truong Thi Phuong, Nguyen Thi Huong, Diep Thi Huong and Nguyen Thi Ngan defeated Indonesian opponents in the women’s 500m quadruples final with a time of 1:54 seconds to take the gold medal.  

Meanwhile, Nguyen Thi Huong once again brought glory to the country, finishing first in the women’s 200m singles final with a time of 49 seconds.

Vietnamese female rowers also performed well at the the women’s kayak 500m quadruples and the women’s canoeing 200m quadruples, pocketing two more silver medals on the same day.

After five days of competition, the Vietnamese canoeing/kayak team brought home eight golds, five silvers and two bronzes.

Meanwhile, their countrymen in rowing earned eight golds, 6 silvers and two bronzes, all surpassing the targets set before the event.

Tennis gold medalists found

Philippine tennis players Ruben Gonzales and Treat Huey pocketed the men’s doubles gold after getting the best of fellow Philippines Jeson Patrombon and Francis Casey Alcantara on May 21 during the ongoing 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31).

The bronze in the event went to two pairs from Vietnam.

In the women’s individual event, the final match was between Anchisa Chanta and Luksika Kumkhum, both from Thailand. Luksika Kumkhum beat Anchisa Chanta 2-1 to win gold. The bronze medal was shared by Vietnam’s Chanelle Van Nguyen and Alexander Eala from the Philippines.

Earlier on May 20, in the mixed doubles event, the pair of Christopher Rungkat and Aldila Sutjiadi from Indonesia defeated Thai pair Pruchya Isarò and Patcharin Cheapchandej to win gold.

Singapore athletics team perform best since 1993

Patience and perseverance have paid off for Singapore’s athletics contingent at the SEA Games 31, who  returned to the homeland on May 20 with their best total medal haul for almost 30 years, according to The Straits Times.

Singapore’s athletics team picked up 11 medals – one gold, three silvers and seven bronzes at SEA Games 31 in Hanoi, Vietnam, marking a significant improvement from the last edition three years ago in the Philippines, where they picked up just three bronze medals.   

Singapore Athletics (SA) president Lien Choong Luen said this was the result of concerted efforts from the track and field fraternity.

Coaches also make a great contribution when keeping the faith in athletes to overcome difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

At SEA Games 31, the host Vietnam continued their dominance of the athletics event, topping the medal tally with 22 golds.  It was followed by Thailand with 12 gold medals and the Philippines with 5 gold medals.

For Singapore, the last time they yielded a double-digit return was SEA Games 1993 on home soil, with 12 medals (one gold, 3 silvers and 8 bronzes).

Vietnamese female weightlifter sets three new SEA Games records

Along with securing a gold medal, Vietnam’s weightlifter Pham Thi Hong Thanh set three new records in snatch, clean and jerk, and total lift in the women's 64kg event on May 21 during the ongoing 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31).

Thanh lifted a total of 230kg - 104kg in snatch, and 126kg in clean and jerk, 6kg and 2kg higher than the old records, respectively.

Thanh’s total lifting was far higher than the old SEA Games record of 214 kg.

Meanwhile, both her rivals from Indonesia and the Philippines had to stop at 120kg.

Thanh said that this was not her best performance as she suffered injury during practice. She said she will continue to work hard towards higher targets such as competitions at the Olympics.

With Thanh’s contribution, Vietnamese weightlifting has had three gold medals, exceeding the team’s goal of two medals set earlier.

The 31st SEA Games, themed “For a Stronger South East Asia”, features 40 sports with 523 events. The biennial event was initially slated for late 2021 but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is scheduled to last until May 23.

Vietnam grabs gold medal in men’s singles table tennis

Vietnamese table tennis player Nguyen Duc Tuan brought home a gold medal after defeating his Thai rival Pharpoom Sanguansin in the men’s singles final match on May 20.

This is the most awaited match by table tennis fans at the regional sports event.

Tuan was the last hope of gold of the Vietnamese table tennis team after his teammates lost in all six out of seven events at the tournament.

The Thai player had two points ahead of Tuan at the beginning of the first set. However, with his calmness, confidence, and solid defence, Tuan made good use of his "right-handed" attacks and won the first set 11-7.

He went on to win the second set with a score of 11-9.

In the third set, Sanguansin returned strong and beat Tuan 11-8.

However, Tuan reversed the situation and defeated the Thai rival 11-7 in the fourth set and 13-7 in the last set.

With this triumph, the Vietnamese table tennis team completed the gold medal target set for the tournament.

Thailand dominated the table tennis competitions at SEA Games 31, taking gold in the men's team, women's team, women's doubles and women's singles. Singapore took the title in the men's doubles and mixed doubles. Vietnam got the gold in the men's single event.

Communication work succeeds in popularizing SEA Games 31

With over 2,000 journalists, including 400-500 foreign correspondents, registering to cover the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31), communication work has brought information about the event to both domestic and international sport fans in real time and spread positive messages about the regional sporting event.  

That was the assessment of Le Thi Hoang Yen, deputy head of SEA Games 31’s sub-committee for information and communications at the third international press conference of SEA Games 31 held on May 21.

Yen, who is also Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Sports Administration, said the organising committee has created the best possible conditions for journalists to send their work back home. The committee also provides transport means for foreign correspondents to travel to competition venues outside Hanoi.

Information on competition schedules, venues has been updated timely, and local authorities have also done well in promoting the sport events, attracting many local residents to watch competitions and cheer on athletes.

Yen reported that all participating teams were pleased with the organisational work and the warm support of Vietnamese people.

During the time the SEA Games 31 is rolling out, many cultural and tourism activities have been held to promote Vietnam to foreign guests.

At the press conference, the organising committee also informed the media about the closing ceremony, to take place on May 23 at the Indoor Athletics Palace in Hanoi, during which the SEA Games flag will be handed over to Cambodia, the host of the next SEA Games.

Thailand win men’s futsal title

Thailand beat host Vietnam 2-0 in the final match of men’s futsal and took the gold medal in the sport at SEA Games 31 on May 20.

Muhammad Osamanmusa opened the score for Thailand in the 2nd minute of the match.

In the 10th minute of the match, Peerapat Kaewwilai  broke Vietnam's net again, bringing the 2nd goal for Thailand, setting a 2-0 score in the first half.

In the second half, with the enthusiastic support of thousands of spectators, the Vietnamese futsal players intensified their attacks and created many scoring opportunities, but they all failed to get the ball into Thailand's net.

The Thai side created a lot of pressure for Vietnamese players but no more goals were scored in the second half. The match ended with a score of 2 - 0 in favour of Thailand.

The silver medal of the men’s futsal event belonged to Indonesia. Vietnam bagged the bronze medal in this event.

Vietnamese aerobic gymnasts earn gold in first competition day

Aerobic gymnasts Nguyen Che Thanh, Tran Ngoc Thuy Vi and Le Hoang Phong won a gold medal in aerobic gymnastics trio event on May 21 during the ongoing 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31).

The trio earned 20.478 points for their performance in about one minute and 20 seconds with.

Meanwhile, Cambodia won silver and Thailand bronze, with 19.3 points and 16.533 points, respectively.

In the men’s individual event, Vietnam's Phan The Gia Hien scored 18.8 points, lower than 19.6 points by his Thai rival Chanokpon Jiunsukjai, and only brought home a silver medal. The bronze in the event belonged to Chanbory Choeun of Cambodia.

Aerobic gymnastics competitions will continue on May 22 at Quan Ngua Gymnasium in Hanoi with three more events. Teams from four countries - Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand and host Vietnam - are competing in the sport.

Vietnam top chess teams at SEA Games 31

The Vietnamese chess team topped the medal tally of the sport at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) held in the northern province of Quang Ninh with seven gold medals.

In the men’s team blitz chess event on May 21 morning, Le Quang Liem and Le Tuan Minh defeated their rivals from Indonesia, Thailand, the  Philippines, Malaysia and Myanmar in five matches to win one more gold medal for Vietnam.

The Indonesian team bagged silver and the Philippines and Malaysia teams shared the bronze. 

Meanwhile, Vietnamese players Pham Le Thao Nguyen and Pham Mai Hung had to share bronze with the Malaysian team in the women’s team blitz chess event on the same day. The gold went to Indonesia and the silver to the Philippines. 

The team blitz chess is the last event of the sport in SEA Games 31, with the participation of 22 players from six countries.

Head coach of the Vietnamese chess team Lam Minh Chau attributed to the results to great efforts and the team spirit of Vietnamese players during the event.

Vietnam fulfil gold target in Vovinam

Vietnam's Mai Thi Kim Thuy earned gold in women’s Long Ho Quyen in Vovinam competitions on May 20, raising the total gold medals of the Vietnamese Vovinam team at SEA Games 31 to four, fulfilling the target set ahead of the regional sporting event.
 
The silver in the event went to Phoo War of Myanmar and the bronze was shared by Chankanika (Cambodia) and Wetan (Indonesia).

In other events the same day, a group of four Vietnamese Vovinam artists claimed one silver in weapon self-defence for man, with the gold belonging to Myanmar and the bronze shared by Cambodia and Indonesia.

In women’s Yin Yang sword, Manik Wetan (Indonesia) pocketed gold, Aung May of Myanmar won silver and Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram shared bronze with Pov Sokha from Cambodia.

In the only fighting event during the day, Chiphouthong from Cambodia beat Basanio of the Philippines to win gold. Basanio got the silver, and Vietnam’s Do Xuan Hieu shared the bronze with Wai Thu of Myanmar.  

Vovinam competitions will continue on May 21 and 22 with five more events.

Volunteers’ silent contribution to SEA Games 31

Dynamic, enthusiastic, hospitable, and patient, volunteers at the 31st Southeast Asian Games are ready at any time, despite rain or sun, to help athletes, coaches, officials, visitors, and fans.

The volunteers engage in making announcements at competitions, medal awarding ceremonies, and translating at working sessions, press conferences, and technical meetings between experts and referees. Some are selected as MCs, translators, and receptionists for certain shows.

Nguyen Huu Luc of the Hanoi University of Sience and Technology said, "We need to be physically strong and arrange times to help at different competitions. I have no difficulty doing this work. For students, nothing is difficult."

Foreign language proficiency is a compulsory criteria when selecting volunteers. They are also required to improve their knowledge concerning culture, sports, and tourism to help promote the image of Vietnam, its land and people to international friends.

Pham Thi Mai Luong, a student of the Hanoi Open University shared, "I’m proud and happy to participate in and contribute to such a big international event. To be a volunteer, I need to be physically strong and have communication skills and foreign language proficiency to introduce Vietnam’s beauty to international friends."

Dao Thanh Phuong, a volunteer at SEA Games 31, said, "I have to collect information about the guests to see whether they have any particular taboo. I also try to study their language and improve my English. An official I met highly praised Vietnam for its preparation for the event and Vietnamese people’s hospitality."

With their youthful enthusiasm, the volunteers have contributed greatly to the success of the 31st Southeast Asian Games.

Source: VNA/VOV/VNN/VNS