Shooting

Lê Thị Mộng Tuyền won a place at the Olympics after finishing in fifth place at the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship 2024's women's 10m air rifle in Indonesia on January 10. Photo of vsf.vn

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam will now have four athletes competing at the Paris Olympic Games this summer.

Markswoman Lê Thị Mộng Tuyền will participate for the first time at the prestigious sporting festival after her outstanding performance at the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship 2024 in Indonesia on January 10.

Tuyền, 20, and teammate Phí Thanh Thảo took part in the women's 10m air rifle. While Thảo failed to reach her peak with 625.2 points, Tuyền scored 627.8 points to be in top eight and qualified for the final round. 

Among eight athletes in the final, five have already qualified. As a result, Tuyền, Fatemeh Amini Pozveh from Iran and Natanya Huiyi Tan of Singapore competed for a slot at the Olympics.

The Vietnamese champion maintained her high performance to have 188.7 points for fifth-place finish, leaving both Pozveh and Tan behind at sixth and eighth, respectively. She did not bring home a medal but the result was enough for her to qualify for this summer's Olympics.

"I am happy and excited to earn my 2024 Olympic spot. It is a big honour for me," said Tuyền.

"I want to say thank you to my coaches and teammates who have been by my side in training and encouraging me to achieve this target."

Lê Thị Mộng Tuyền (second, left) and her coaches pose for photo after securing her Olympic place. — Photo of vsf.vn

Head coach Park Chung-gun was emotional after his athlete's result. The South Korean said he was pleased and proud of Tuyền who shot really well in this competition. Her qualification would push other Vietnamese athletes in future events.

This is Việt Nam's second Olympic slot in shooting. Earlier Trịnh Thu Vinh qualified in the women's 10m air pistol event after her fifth place at the 2023 world championship.

To date, Việt Nam have four athletes going to Paris in shooting, cycling and swimming. The sport officials set a target of 15 slots and players in badminton, boxing, taekwondo, karate are among the national hopes.

The Asian shooting championship is held until January 18. Việt Nam's 11 competitors are taking part in both pistol and rifle categories.

On January 9, Phạm Quang Huy and Thu Vinh won a gold in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. VNS