VietNamNet Bridge – The 17th Asian Games (Asiad) wrapped up after 14 days of formal competition, with Vietnam failing to meet the 2-4 gold medal target, winning only one in its 36 medal tally. Despite missing their goal, the Incheon Games can still be considered a successful for the Vietnamese as they fought to achieve many historic “firsts” in the prestigious arena.

Duong Thuy Vy (taekwondo)

Female taekwondo artist, Duong Thuy Vy, saved Vietnam from a gold-less Asiad by bringing home the gold medal in the women’s Taolu (demonstration) event. Vy won a total of 19.41 points – 9.71 points for jianshu, and 9.70 points for her changquan performance–0.02 points ahead of the Macau silver medallist, Li Yi.

 

 

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Duong Thuy Vy captures Vietnam’s first Asiad taekwondo gold medal.

 

 

 

It was Vietnam’s first-ever Wushu gold medal won at an Asiad competition, following a tally of four silver and one bronze at the previous Games in Guangzhou, China four years ago.

Nguyen Thi Anh Vien (swimming)    

Nguyen Thi Anh Vien opened a new chapter in national swimming history as she snatched the women’s 400m individual medley bronze medal in Incheon−Vietnam’s first Asiad swimming medal since resuming participation at Asiad in 1982 in India.

 

 

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Anh Vien (right) seizes her second individual bronze in the 200m backstroke.

 

 

 

 

Anh Vien finished with a time of 4:39.65, behind China’s Ye Shiwen (4:32.97) – who set a new Games record – and Japanese swimmer Sakiko Shimizu (4:38.63). She also added another bronze to her individual tally after finishing third in the 200m backstroke with a final time of 2:12.25.

Vien’s bronze medal was of great importance as the Asiad arena gathers the presence of many Olympic champions, world champions and world-level champions. At the age of 18, Anh Vien still has plenty of time to realise her golden dreams.

Phan Thi Ha Thanh (gymnastics)

Phan Thi Ha Thanh vaulted to bronze in Incheon on September 24, making herself the first Vietnamese gymnast to win a medal at an Asiad competition. She scored a total of 14.683 points, behind gold medalist, Hong Un Jong from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and second-place finisher, Uzbekistani Chusovitina Oksana.

 

 

 

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Phan Thi Ha Thanh in the women's vault final

 

The historic medal drove Thanh and her teammates to greater success during the remainder of the Games, with an additional silver on balance beam by Ha Thanh, and two other bronze medals from Dinh Phuong Thanh and Dang Nam in the men's parallel bars and rings disciplines respectively.

Nguyen Thi That (Cycling)

Nguyen Thi That grabbed Vietnam’s first ever Asiad cycling medal as she finished runner-up in the women’s road race, behind Jutatip Manneephan of Thailand.

The silver medal can be considered a historic achievement, opening a new chapter in Vietnamese cycling.

Luu Thi Duyen and Le Thi Bang (boxing)

Female fighters, Luu Thi Duyen and Le Thi Bang, took home two bronze medals in the women’s light (57-60kg) and flyweight (48-51kg) events respectively on September 30, making the 17th Asiad the most successful for Vietnam’s boxing.

 

 

 

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Luu Thi Duyen celebrates her victory

 

 

 

Despite losing the semifinal clashes to Chinese and Indian opponents, their historic medals put Vietnam on the list of countries and territories with Asiad boxing medals.

Nguyen Tien Nhat (fencing)

Nguyen Tien Nhat became the first Vietnamese fencer to claim an Asiad medal after stabbing the men’s individual epee bronze in Incheon.

 

 

 

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Tien Nhat beat Kazakhstan’s Elmir Alimzhanov 8-7 in the quarterfinal but lost the semifinal clash 8-11 at the hands of the host country’s Park Kyoung-doo.

Nhan Dan/VNN