SEA Games

Ngần Ngọc Nghĩa of Việt Nam (left) qualified for the men's 200m race. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — In a morning filled with intense competition, Huỳnh Khắc Nguyên clinched the silver medal in the men's ying-yang sword form event at the 32nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games hosted in Cambodia.

Nguyên's impressive performance earned him a total of 447 points, falling just short of Aik Soe Lin of Myanmar, who secured the gold medal with 449 points. Phupakorn Wongthanachet of Thailand claimed the bronze with 437 points.

The morning's events also saw several athletes from Việt Nam qualify for the finals in martial arts, athletics, and swimming.

The Vietnamese karate team, comprising Trương Thị Thương, Đinh Thị Hương, Nguyễn Thị Ngoan and Hoàng Thị Mỹ Tâm, proved themselves in the women's kumite (combat) semis by defeating Indonesia. They now look ahead to their showdown with the Philippines for the coveted gold medal.

Hoàng Thị Mỹ Tâm and teammates will fight for gold in the women's kumite event.

Meanwhile the men, with Chu Văn Đức, Đỗ Thanh Nhân, Đỗ Mạnh Hùng, Võ Văn Hiền, Trần Lê Tấn Đạt, Nguyễn Viết Ngọc Hiệp and Lò Văn Biển, beat Malaysia to book a berth in the final against Malaysia.

In swimming, Việt Nam sent two young athletes, Nguyễn Thúy Hiền and Phạm Thị Vân, to the final of the women's 100m freestyle.

Their seniors, Lê Thu Thủy and Võ Thị Mỹ Tiên, qualified for the women's 400m freestyle. Nguyễn Quang Thuấn and Trần Hưng Nguyên will compete in the men's 400m individual medley final.

Nguyễn Hữu Kim Sơn and defending Nguyễn Huy Hoàng received byes to compete in the men's 1.500m freestyle in the evening.

Việt Nam had three athletes qualified for the finals in track and field.

Silver medallist Ngần Ngọc Nghĩa will be represented in the men's 200m, while newbies Trần Thị Yến Nhi and Kha Thanh Trúc will run in the women's 200m.

There will have five other finals that will see Vietnamese competitors at the Modorok Techo Stadium.

Nguyễn Hoài Văn will defend his title in the men's javelin, Nguyễn Thị Hường will compete in the women's triple jump, and Lương Đức Phước and Giang Văn Dũng will run in the men's 1,500m. Phước is the reigning champion.

The mixed 400m relay team will see Vietnamese runners trying to steal their title back after losing to Thailand last Games.

Nguyễn Thị Oanh will compete in the women's 5,000m, one of her four events at the 32nd Games.

Nguyễn Thị Oanh and Phạm Thị Hồng Lệ will take part in the women's 5,000m. They were the champion and first runner-up at the 31st SEA Games.

Oanh will be the highlight of the athletics of Việt Nam and the 32nd SEA Games.

The Asian Indoor Championship winner is the first athlete of Việt Nam and a rare case in SEA Games to compete in four different running events.

Oanh is defending champion of the 1,500m, 5,000m and 3,000m steeplechase. This year, she will vie for the title in the 10,000m.

Also, Việt Nam's hope to have medals in the triathlon collapsed in the morning.

Both men's and women's representatives, Lâm Quang Nhật and Nguyễn Thị Kim Cương, could not finish their race.

Nhật quit when he was in the running stage because of exhaustion, while Cương withdrew because of an injury during cycling. An X-ray showed that she had a broken hip and could not do the running.

After a medical check, boxer Nguyễn Thị Tâm announced bad news for supporters.

Boxer Nguyễn Thị Tâm suffers a heavy injury.

She had a torn ligament of the left knee and now faces a long spell out of the ring.

The world silver medallist was expected to win SEA Games gold three times in a row, lost via technical knock out in her first match against Jutamas Jitpong of Thailand in the women's 54kg after suffering her injury.

The injury might prevent her from participating in the September Asian Games in China and qualifications for the Paris Olympics. VNS