SEA Games

Nguyễn Quang Thuấn (right) and Trần Hưng Nguyên after their 400m IM at the 33rd SEA Games on December 12 in Thailand. — Photos courtesy of Việt Nam Sports Team

BANGKOK — Nguyễn Quang Thuấn made his own name in the region after winning the men's 400m individual medley event at the 33rd SEA Games on December 12 in Thailand.

It was his first time on top of the podium in an individual event at the third Games.

Previously, he took silvers after finishing behind senior teammate Trần Nguyên Hưng, the dominater of this event in the 31st and 32nd Games.

He was also unexpectedly mentioned as younger brother of Việt Nam's legendary swimmer Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên.

After Thuấn stormed to the finish line with a time of 4min 19.95sec he has now been known as a SEA Games champion.

"I am over the moon with the first gold SEA Games," said Thuấn who overthrew Hưng's domination, baeting him with a gap of five seconds.

"I would like to dedicate this medal to my homeland, Việt Nam, and the entire supporters. I am pround to contribute my humble achievement for Việt Nam's swimming.

"Prior my depart to Thailand, Viên encouraged me a lot, asking me to try my best. I have made what I wished although I didn't set a heavy target myself. I will compete in the 200m butterfly and hope to swim well."

In the men’s 1,500m freestyle final, Việt Nam’s top swimmer Nguyễn Huy Hoàng delivered an outstanding performance, earning a gold medal with a result of 15:19.58.

Young talent Mai Trần Tuấn Anh also impressed, breaking away from his Singaporean Russel Pang to finish in seconds to claim silver.

"It is my first individual title here. Despite a gold, the result is not as good as I wanted. My apology to all the fans who have supported me a lot," said Hoàng, citing a problem of his swimming trunk and the cold water.

"I will swim better in the next event and win for Việt Nam with better achivements."

Athletes of athletics and pétanque also consecutively brought home important gold medals, marking a brilliant day for Việt Nam in the third day of competitions.

Nguyẽn Thị Ngọc secures a gold medal in the women’s 400m final on December 12. —VNA/VNS Photo

Nguyẽn Thị Ngọc secured one more gold medal for Vietnamese athletics in the women’s 400m, which featured Ngọc and her teammate Hoàng Thị Minh Hạnh competing against athletes from Thailand and the Philippines.

Ngọc had a strong start, maintained the lead, and sprinted to finish first with a time of 52.74sec.

In the men’s 400m, Vietnamese runners also delivered strong performances, earning two more medals. Tạ Ngọc Tưởng won a silver with a result of 45.53sec, breaking the national record of 45.59sec, while Lê Ngọc Phúc claimed a bronze.

In the women’s 100m hurdles, Huỳnh Thị Mỹ Tiên won a bronze medal with a time of 13.43sec.

The pétanque team added another gold thanks to Lý Ngọc Tài and Ngô Ron in the men's doubles. Shortly after that, the women’s pair Nguyễn Thị Thi and Nguyễn Thị Thúy Kiều defeated hosts Thailand to claim the second gold of the day.

Lý Ngọc Tài and Ngô Ron with the national flag in the victory ceremony.

With this double win, Việt Nam’s pétanque squad raised their gold medal tally to three, asserting their dominance at the 33rd SEA Games.

In the women’s category of the e-sports game Audition, Lê Thị Hoài Phương (Elina) excelled to win a gold medal with 3,717,195 points, while her teammate Tô Ý Linh (Linhh) took silver with 3,023,771 points, confirming Việt Nam’s dominance in the event.

Việt Nam currently place second in the medal tally with 24 golds. Thailand set a big gap with the rest delegations with 66 titles. Indonesia are at third position with 20 golds. —VNS