ĐÀ NẴNG  — Vietnamese athlete Phan Thị Phương bagged Việt Nam’s first gold medal of the fifth Asian Beach Games, which officially kicked off Saturday in the central city of Đà Nẵng.

She won gold by beating teammate Nguyễn Huyền Trang 3-0 in the women’s fairway singles woodball final yesterday.

In the men’s fairway singles final, Pronsane Phetanun of Thailand beat his fellow countryman Kongpolprom Nutchanon 3-1 in all-Thai final.

In the men’s 5km swim,  Khudyakov Vitaliy of Kazakhstan came out the victor after a tough race yesterday.

Khudyakov, who won gold in the men’s 10km Friday, knotched his second gold with a time of 58 minutes and 3.3 seconds,  7.3 seconds ahead off runner-up Mohammad Saleh of Syria (58min 10.6sec). Vietnam’s Trần Tấn Triều finished in 58min 54.1sec for bronze medal.

In the women’s 10km race, Chinese swimmers swept the gold and silver medals: Xin Xin and Yang Dandan finished first and second, respectively.

Xin clocked a time of two hours, 14 minutes and 1.6 seconds, beating her teammate Yang, who came in second with 2hr 14min 14.8secs. Kazakhstan’s Romanchuk Xeniya came in third with a time of 2hr 14min 20sec. Vietnamese Lê Thị My Thảo finished fourth place.

In the all-Vietnamese final of the women’s under-48kg kurash event, top player Văn Ngọc Tú bagged a gold medal after beating Hoàng Thị Tình.

Nguyễn Thị Thanh Thuý grabbed a gold medal in the women’s under-52kg category with a win over teammate Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh.

Mohammad Hossein Sheikholeslami of Iran beat Otgon Chinbat of Mongolia in the men’s under-60kg final yesterday for gold medal.

In the men’s beach football yesterday, Việt Nam dismantled Laos 8-2 in the first round.

Trần Vĩnh Phong and Bùi Trần Tuấn Anh scored a hat trick each, while Lê Kim Tuấn and Trần Ngọc Bảo added two more goals for Việt Nam. Champathong Khitsakhone Nonmany Chiu scored Laos’s two goals.

In kabaddi team event, the Republic of Korea beat Sri Lanka 40-38.

Vietnamese athletes have bagged four golds, four silvers and 13 bronzes after the first official day of competition yesterday.

Specular ceremony

A ‘Sun Rise over the Ocean’ performance kicked off the Games’ opening ceremony.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc was in attendance, officially declaring the opening of the biggest beach sporting games in Asia.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vũ  Đức  Đam; Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Nguyễn Ngọc Thiện; and the President of International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach also attended the ceremony, along with officials from Việt Nam, Thailand, Malaysia, and thousands of local residents and tourists.  

President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, expressed his thanks for the warm welcome of the Việt Nam Government and the people of Đà Nẵng.

He called the ABG5 a very special event because it transcends sport toward a spirit of friendship and co-operation among Asian nations.

He urged athletes to play hard, but fair and to enjoy the beauty of Đà Nẵng.

Huỳnh Đức Thơ, Chairman of the city’s people’s committee, said the city was well prepared for the games, despite bad weather as the central region’s rainy season begins.

A torch relay began with fishermen at the sea and ended in the hands of Việt Nam’s top athletes, including Văn Ngọc Tú, Nguyễn Trần Duy Nhất, Nguyễn Huy Hoàng and Rio Olympic gold medalist Hoàng Xuân Vinh.

Most sports will be played at four major venues along a 5,000m-long beachfront in Sơn Trà and Ngũ Hành Sơn districts.

The event brings together over 3,100 athletes and 1,500 coaches and officials. 42 teams from Asian countries and territories will compete in 14 sports for 172 medals from September 24 to October 3. — VNS