Vietnam finished out the 2010 Asian Games last Saturday in China with one gold, 17 silver and 15 bronze medals.

The only gold medal was won the martial artist Le Bich Phuong in the women karatedo’s under-55 kilogram category.

Vietnam failed to reach the goal of winning 4-6 gold medals to be among the top 20 in the continent.

Vietnamese athletes cleaned up in the track and field events –taking home three silvers and two bronze medals for the first time at an Asian Games contest.

Sprint queen Vu Thi Huong won the bronze and silver in the women’s 100m and 200m respectively while Truong Thanh Hang took the silver in the women’s 800m and 1,500m. More notably, Vu Van Huyen won the bronze medal in the men’s decathlon.

Right from the beginning, Chinese athletes proved strong and took the lead all the way through before finishing the continent’s biggest sporting event with 199 gold, 119 silver and 98 bronze medals.

The“Best Athlete of the 2010 Asian Games” was won by Chinese badminton player Lindan who defeated the reigning World Champion in the finals.

Having said goodbye to the 16th Asian Games and all the hopes, Vietnamese athletes and officials have a moment to reflect on the event and decide how to prepare for the 17th event –which will take place in Incheon, South Korea in 2014.