Vietnamese gymnast Pham Phuoc Hung secured a bronze medal on the parallel bars at the ninth Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup, which took place in Doha, Qatar from March 24 to 26.

Pham Phuoc Hung (right) at the awards ceremony.

Hung ranked third in the preliminary round scoring 15,550 points, which secured him a place in the finals to compete against seven other opponents from China, Cuba, Turkey, Azerbaijan and the UK.

Maintaining stability, Hung continued to safeguard his third position in the finals with 15,350 points, bringing home the only medal for Vietnam.

The gold medal went to Oleg Stepko of Azerbaijan with 15,825 points, while Manrique Larduet of Cuba claimed the silver with 15,775 points.

The international event attracted more than 100 gymnasts from 33 countries to compete for US$50,000 in prize money.

After the tournament, Hung will continue training in preparation for a pre-Olympic competition scheduled for next month. This will be the last qualification tournament for gymnasts to vie for places in the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Nhan Dan