Runner Ngần Ngọc Nghĩa competes in the men’s 100m event at the National Sports Games this year. VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyết

HẠ LONG — The National Sports Games closed yesterday in Quảng Ninh Province with Hà Nội topping the medal table.

The capital team brought home 175 golds, 143 silvers and 157 bronze medals. HCM City were runners-up with 128 golds, 119 silvers and 143 bronzes. The Military team finished third with 90 golds, 82 silvers and 95 bronzes.

In fencing alone, Hà Nội bagged five golds, seven silvers and eight bronze medals.

Hà Nội also proved their power in wushu as they claimed gold medals in seven out of 17 weight classes including women’s 48kg, 52kg, 65kg and men’s 52kg, 56kg, 70kg and 75kg.

In karate, the Hanoian fighters secured four golds, four silvers and five bronze medals, overcoming the last Games' winning team, the Military.

At this event, athletes have set 28 new national records and 96 Games records, of which track and field athletes set  four national records and 15 Games records.

Notably, Ngần Ngọc Nghĩa took gold medal in men’s 100m category with a time of 10.35secs, breaking the old national record of 10.40 and the Games record of 10.47, both set by him before.

Athletics was also a sport that witnessed a rare thing when in the men's pole vault event, up to three athletes successfully conquered the 4.30m bar. They were Lê Văn Hân, Nguyễn Văn Huệ of Hải Dương and Trần Bá Linh of Đà Nẵng. The organizers awarded gold medals to all three athletes.

This year's event also witnessed the impressive farewell of many veterans including swimmer Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên who won nine gold medals for the Military team before officially retiring from her competitive career to switch to coaching.

The ninth Games was held from December 9-21 in Quảng Ninh, the main location, and 10 other cities and provinces. This is the largest Games in history with more than 17,000 participants from 65 delegations competing in 43 sports.

The event aimed to summarise and evaluate the four-year cycle of training and development of sports in the country, thereby orienting the development of Vietnamese sports in the future. VNS