Vietnamese athlete Phan Thi Phuong bagged Vietnam’s first gold medal of the fifth Asian Beach Games, which officially kicked off on September 24 in the central city of Danang.

She won gold by beating teammate Nguyen Huyen Trang 3-0 in the women’s fairway singles woodball final on September 25.

In the men’s fairway singles final,  Pronsane Phetanun of Thailand beat his fellow countryman Kongpolprom Nutchanon 3-1 in all-Thai final.

In the men’s 5km swim, Khudyakov Vitaliy of Kazakhstan came out the victor after a tough race on September 25.

Khudyakov, who won gold in the men’s 10km, knotched his second gold with a time of 58 minutes and 3.3 seconds,  7.3 seconds ahead off runner-up Mohammad Saleh of Syria (58min 10.6sec). Vietnam’s Tran Tan Trieu finished in 58min 54.1sec for bronze medal.

In the women’s 10km race, Chinese swimmers swept the gold and silver medals: Xin Xin and Yang Dandan finished first and second, respectively.

Xin clocked a time of two hours, 14 minutes and 1.6 seconds, beating her teammate Yang, who came in second with 2hr 14min 14.8secs. Kazakhstan’s Romanchuk Xeniya came in third with a time of 2hr 14min 20sec. Vietnamese Le Thi My Thao finished fourth place.

In the all-Vietnamese final of the women’s under-48kg kurash event, top player Van Ngoc Tu bagged a gold medal after beating Hoang Thi Tinh.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy grabbed a gold medal in the women’s under-52kg category with a win over teammate Nguyen Thi Quynh.

Mohammad Hossein Sheikholeslami of Iran beat Otgon Chinbat of Mongolia in the men’s under-60kg final yesterday for gold medal.

In the men’s beach football on September 25, Vietnam dismantled Laos 8-2 in the first round.

Tran Vinh Phong and Bui Tran Tuan Anh scored a hat trick each, while Le Kim Tuan and Tran Ngoc Bao added two more goals for Vietnam. Champathong Khitsakhone Nonmany Chiu scored Laos’s two goals.

In kabaddi team event, the Republic of Korea beat Sri Lanka 40-38.

Vietnamese athletes have bagged four golds, four silvers and 13 bronzes after the first official day of competition on September 25.

Specular ceremony

A ‘Sun Rise over the Ocean’ performance kicked off the Games’ opening ceremony.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was in attendance, officially declaring the opening of the biggest beach sporting games in Asia.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu  Duc  Dam; Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Nguyen Ngoc Thien; and the President of International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach also attended the ceremony, along with officials from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and thousands of local residents and tourists.  

President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, expressed his thanks for the warm welcome of the Vietnam Government and the people of Danang.

He called the ABG5 a very special event because it transcends sport toward a spirit of friendship and co-operation among Asian nations.

He urged athletes to play hard, but fair and to enjoy the beauty of Danang.

Huynh Duc Tho, Chairman of the city’s people’s committee, said the city was well prepared for the games, despite bad weather as the central region’s rainy season begins.

A torch relay began with fishermen at the sea and ended in the hands of Vietnam’s top athletes, including Van Ngoc Tu, Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat, Nguyen Huy Hoang and Rio Olympic gold medalist Hoang Xuan Vinh.

Most sports will be played at four major venues along a 5,000m-long beachfront in Son Tra and Ngu Hanh Son districts.

The event brings together over 3,100 athletes and 1,500 coaches and officials. 42 teams from Asian countries and territories will compete in 14 sports for 172 medals from September 24 to October 3.

VNS