Sepak Takraw

Vietnamese players and coach Hoàng Thái Xuân (fourth, right) and coach Trần Thị Vui (fourth, left) after winning the gold medal at the 2023 King's Cup Sepak Takraw World Championship on July 15 in Korat, Thailand.

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam successfully defended its gold medal at the 2023 King's Cup Sepak Takraw World Championship on July 15 in Korat, Thailand.

The team topped the women's quad (team of four) event after beating powerful Indonesia 2-0 in the final match.

Earlier, they were in a group with Myanmar, South Korea and Japan.

The Vietnamese girls outstandingly beat world high-ranking Myanmar and South Korea with the same score of 2-1 in the matches that coach Hoàng Thái Xuân described "as thrilling as the finals".

They later overcame Japan 2-0 to advance to the semi-finals.

The defending champions went on to defeat Laos 2-0 for a berth in the gold-medal match.

Coach Xuân said her players were in high spirits and strictly followed prescribed tactics in the final. They were excellent in both attacks and defence, giving Indonesian almost no chance to score points.

Indonesia quickly lost pace and was defeated in both two sets, losing 21-15 and 21-12.

Last year, Việt Nam won the title after 16 years of waiting, defeating hosts Thailand in the final match.

Xuân said the gold would be a strong push for the team ahead of the important 19th Asian Games in September in China.

Prior to the gold, the Vietnamese athletes also won a silver in the men's hoop and a bronze in the women's hoop (kicking takraw balls into a hoop hung in the air), a bronze in the women's regu (team of three), a bronze in the men's quad and a silver in the women's team regu events.

The 36th world championship was organised from July 9-16 bringing 36 teams from around the world. Việt Nam sent a team of 33 athletes to compete in all eight categories for both men and women. VNS