The third Asian Indoor Games ended yesterday with China scooping up a mammoth 48 golds after the 10-day showpiece of near-flawless logistics.

At the closing ceremony last night were Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung and Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Uong Chu Luu, among many others.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, chairman of Viet Nam Olympic Committee Nguyen Danh Thai said, “The third Asian Indoor Games ended successfully after 10 days of competition at venues in Ha Noi, HCM City, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong and Quang Ninh. Twenty new records were set.

“As the host, Viet Nam showed hospitality, friendship and peace to the 43 participating countries and territories.”

On behalf of the Olympic Council of Asia, Vice President Timothy Tsunting Fok also expressed his thanks to Viet Nam’s Government for the good preparation of the games.

The next Indoor Games will be scheduled in the next four years, when the Asian Indoor Games will integrate with Asian Martial Arts Festival.

Glorious dance: Dancers and artists perform in the Asian Indoor Games closing ceremony at My Dinh Indoor Athletics-Complex yesterday.

Saturday, the last day of competition, was a golden day for Viet Nam, who pocketed their highest number of 12 golds, which helped them come very close to China’s best tally.

It was a day of pencak silat martial artists, who successfully snatched six victories out of seven final events.

The team, a group of world champions, met with no difficulties to show off their powers on the competition mats. Huynh Thi Thu Hong opened the day with her gold in the women’s 55kg event after bearing Malaysia’s Mahani Bakri 5-0.

Later, Le Thi Hong Ngoan (women’s 70kg), Nguyen Thi Phuong Thuy (women’s 65kg), Vu The Hoang (men’s 80kg), Nguyen Thanh Quyen (men’s 85kg) and Nguyen Ba Trinh (men’s 60kg) stepped up after Hong to occupy the top podiums.

Three other golds were taken in kickboxing and Muay Thai competitions, which were organised in HCM City.

The last gold for Vietnamese artists went to the wushu team, who persuaded all the judges with their outstanding performances in the bare-hand vs bare-hand event. It was the third wushu gold after two in sanshou (combat) over the previous days.

On the shuttlecock court, Vietnamese players grabbed the last two golds in the women’s and men’s singles events by Nguyen Thi Nga and Nguyen Anh Tuan, respectively.

Late on Saturday night, duo Hong Thi and Minh Truong wrapped up the great day with their titles in the dance sport event.

Thi/Truong, who have been paired with each other for several months, fascinated all referees and spectators at the Quan Ngua Gymnasium with their charming steps in jive. They successfully overcame strong rivals from China and Japan to take the gold medal.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News