Athletics 

Hoàng Thị Minh Hạnh of Việt Nam (centre) during the last leg of the women's 4x400m at the ongoing Asian Athletics Championships on May 29 in Gumi, South Korea. Photo courtesy of AAA

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam has won the silver medal in the women's 4x400m at the ongoing Asian Athletics Championships on May 29 in Gumi, South Korea.

Quartet Nguyễn Thị Ngọc, Nguyễn Thị Hằng, Quách Thị Lan and Hoàng Thị Minh Hạnh came second with a time of 3min 34.77sec, failing to defend their title.

The team ran about five seconds slower than they did in the previous championships in Thailand.

Indian runners made an impressive sprint to finish first with a time of 3:34.18. Sri Lanka came third with 3:36.67.

Meanwhile, in another class, SEA Games champion Nguyễn Trung Cường set a new national record when he competed in the men's 3,000m steeplechase.

Cường did not manage to enter the top three, but his fifth place position with a time of 8:38.25 became his personal best speed and a national record, beating the former 8:51.16 record he set in a youth tournament in Finland seven years ago.

Vietnamese athletes will compete in the women's 200m and 400m hurdles along with the 5,000m race, as well as the men's and women's 800m, 5,000m and mixed 4x400m races in the next few days. VNS