Nguyễn Huy Hoàng is Việt Nam's first Asian champion in history. Photo thethaovietnam.vn

HÀ NỘI — Nguyễn Huy Hoàng has become the first Vietnamese Asian swimming champion after his victory in the men’s 1,500m freestyle on September 29 in India.

Hoàng finished first in his favourite event in a time of 15 minutes 15.01 seconds to reach the top podium of the 11th Asian Aquatics Championships at the Aquatics Stadium, Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad.

He was followed by Ilya Sibirtsev of Ukraine, who swam 15:23.35, and Kushagra Rawat of the hosts, who clocked 15:30.88.

In the men’s 400m individual medley, Trần Hưng Nguyên won silver for Việt Nam after finishing second in 4:20.30. The winner was Yichen Xie of China in 4:19.34 while Shun Tanaka of Japan took bronze in 4:20.56.

Võ Thị Mỹ Tiên collected her second medal of the tournament after finishing third in the women’s 400m individual medley, clocking 4:49.81. Yanjun Zhou of China (4:44.88) and Koharu Nakazawa of Japan (4:47.40) were first and second respectively.

Vietnamese athletes also competed in the women’s 50m freestyle, men’s 50m breaststroke and men’s 4x200m freestyle but did not place in the top three.

The swimming events will continue on September 30 and October 1, with nine Vietnamese swimmers expected to challenge for more medals.

The 11th Asian Aquatics Championships is a major continental event bringing together elite athletes from across Asia in swimming, diving, water polo, artistic swimming and open water swimming. Held in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, the championships have attracted wide participation, making it one of the region’s most significant aquatic competitions. — VNS