Vietnamese taekwondo athletes continued their impressive performances in kumite (combat) on the third day of competition at the Southeast Asian Games, winning one gold and one silver Friday.

Taekwondo artist Nguyen Thi Hoai Thu, who won gold at the Asian Martial Arts Games in Thailand in August, beat Indonesian rival, Nurul Fadlilah with an outstanding performance in the final of the women’s 57kg.

Although Le Huynh Chau tried his best, he still lost to the Philippines’ Tshomlee Go in the final of men’s 68 kg to take silver.

Viet Nam have proved their power in the taekwondo event. The gold and silver medals which Thu and Chau won lifted Viet Nam’s team to the top of the taekwondo medal tally with five golds, three silvers, and two bronze medals. The Phillipines and Thailand are second and third, respectively.

In the diving event, Hoang Thanh Tra pulled off some brilliant dives to bring another gold home in the women’s 3m springboard after beating rivals from Malaysia and Indonesia.

Tra’s gold is the first one that Viet Nam’s aquatic team has won at this Games which will conclude next Friday. Hanoian Tra was also the champion at the Thailand Games two years ago.

Vietnamese martial artists also shone in karate. Nguyen Ngoc Thanh and Bui Thu Trieu both won gold medals in the men’s 67kg and women’s 62kg, respectively

Another gold went to Viet Nam’s 24-year-old Nguyen Thi Hien in the petanque event after she beat Cambodian rival, Ouk Sreymom, in the women’s singles final.

To reach the final, Hien, who won gold at the third Asian Indoor Games in Viet Nam last month, beat Thailand’s Wongsut in the semi-final.

In the men’s weightlifting 62kg, Nguyen Manh Thang won a bronze medal with a total lift of 277kg for both snatch and clean and jerk categories.

VNN/VNS