VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam's top female swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien broke two more Southeast Asian (SEA) Games records on the second day of the 28th SEA Games in Singapore yesterday, June 7.

Winning streak: Nguyen Thi Anh Vien performs at the 28th SEA Games in Singapore yesterday. — Photo news.yahoo.com

She finished first in women's 200m individual backstroke in 2:14.12 and broke her own record of 2:14.80, which she set in the 2013 Games in Myanmar.

Yosaputra Yessy Ven-esia of Indonesia took the silver medal by finishing in 2:17.17, while the bronze medal went to Filipina Yu Roxanne Ashley who finished in 2:18.45.

Eighteen-year-old Vien also triumphed in her favourite sport, women's 200m individual medley, in 2:13.53, breaking the record of Malaysia's Siow Yi Ting, set in the 2009 Games in Laos.

Thailand's Pawapotako Phiangkhwan timed 2:18.56 to win the silver medal, while Yeo Samantha Louisa Ginn of Singapore won the bronze medal with a time of 2:18.77

However, Vien, who became the first Vietnamese to rank among the world's top 10 swimmers in women's 400m medley, failed in women's 50m butterfly final yesterday, while Hoang Quy Phuoc won a bronze in men's 100m free style.

On Saturday, Vien brought home two more gold and also broke two Games records. She timed 4:43.93 in heat two of the 400m individual medley at the OCBC Aquatic Centre, comfortably lowering her previous Games mark of 4:46.16 set in Myanmar in 2013.

In the women's 800m freestyle, Vien also set a Games record with a time of 8:34.85, beating Singapore's Lim Lynette Shu En's 8:35.41, which she set in the 2009 Games in Laos.

Her teammate Hoang Quy Phuoc also broke a Games record in men's 200m freestyle with 1:48.96.

"I always want the best result in every tournament because I can know my strong and weak points from them. These are not my best results in training sessions. In fact, my rivals this year are very young and are known to have made fast progress in the past. However, I feel very comfortable in this competition. I am very happy to have won gold and to have broken SEA Games records," said the Can Tho province-born player.

"My target is to bag gold medals in the remaining categories as well. I will have to struggle against Singaporean rivals to reach my target," Vien added.

Surprise gold

Tran Quoc Cuong won a surprise gold medal in 10m air pistol in men's individual; he was followed by Wong Johnathan Guanjie of Malaysia and Cuong's teammate Hoang Xuan Vinh.

Cuong, Vinh, and Nguyen Hoang Phuong took home another gold medal for Viet Nam in men's team's 10m air pistol event.

In women's individual 10m air pistol, Vietnamese Nguyen Minh Chau took a bronze medal. The gold and silver medals went to Teo Shun Xie of Singapore Thailand's Klaisuban, respectively.

Meanwhile, Duong Thuy Vi outstandingly won the first gold medal for wushu Viet Nam at the ongoing Games.

Vi earned 9.70 points to take the lead in women's optional straight sword.

"I am very glad to bring the first gold medal for wushu Viet Nam, but I am not satisfied with my achievement. I am only 0.02 points better than my runner-up," said Vi.

"I had set a high target for myself in this Games as I considered this as preparation for a coming world event. I think I can do better," Vi added.

The 22-year-old Vietnamese pocketed gold medals at World Championships and the Southeast Asian Games in 2013 and was crowned champion at the 17th Asian Games held in South Korea last September.

On Saturday, fencers continued their excellent performance, wining two additional gold medals in men's team epee and sabre events, raising the total gold medal tally of Viet Nam's fencing team to six.

Meanwhile, female race walker Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc outpaced her rivals to take gold in women's 20km walk event with 1h45'19. This is the third time Phuc has won gold at the Games.

The other three gold medals went to men's gymnastics team, judo artist Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy in women's 52kg category, and petanque player Nguyen Thi Thi in women's shooting event.

Yesterday, Viet Nam ranked second in the medal tally, with 21 gold, seven silver, and 20 bronze. Singapore topped the table with 26 gold, 20 silvers, and 37 bronzes. Thailand stood third with 20 gold, 24 silvers, and 19 bronzes.

VNS