Seven Vietnamese kickboxers made the finals of the World Amateur Muay Thai Championships in Ayutthaya, Thailand, but they only managed to bring home two gold and two bronze medals.

One gold went to Truong Quoc Hung in the men’s under-67kg category and the second went to Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat after he beat Iraq’s Ahmed Abbood in the men’s under-60kg.

Viet Nam pinned their hopes on Phan Thi Ngoc Linh to secure the team’s third gold in the final of the women’s under-57kg but she was defeated by Thailand’s Konnika Nuanroriboon who previously took gold at the third Asian Indoor Games and silver at the 25th Southeast Asian Games.

Viet Nam were one of the event’s strongest teams with 10 athletes and two coaches. Nhat, Le Huu Phuc (51kg male) and Linh were Muay Thai champions last year.

The event kicked off on Sunday with athletes from 42 nations and territories worldwide.

The national team will take part in the Semi-professional Muay Championship in Bangkok until next Tuesday.

Despite the fact that Muay Thai only came to Viet Nam two years ago, Vietnamese martial artists have quickly excelled at the sport.

The Muay Thai municipal association was established in Viet Nam in June to nurture the sport domestically.

Source: VNS