AIMAG

HÀ NỘI — Trần Thị Thanh Thủy brought home Việt Nam’s fourth gold medal at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) late on Wednesday in Turkmenistan.

The 20-year-old emerged victorious in the women’s over-87kg category after beating Anna Dmitriyewa of the host country 5-0 in the final match.

This is the second time that a kurash athlete of Việt Nam won a gold at the AIMAG. Four years ago, Văn Ngọc Tú grabbed the gold in the women’s 48kg in South Korea.

“It is great that I won a gold medal in my first AIMAG. Rivals here, especially those from central Asia, are really strong, but I have strong hands and compete with confidence,” said Thủy.

“I set a target for myself everyday before every match and give my best every minute into the game. It is important to leave all worries behind while competing,” she said.

Thủy is, in fact, a judo martial artist. She won a national championship title before taking part in the world youth tournament in India. She secured a silver at the Asian youth event in Chinese Taipei earlier this year.

According to coach Nguyễn Quốc Trung, kurash is similar to judo, but athletes focus more on the upper body of their rivals. The goal of the competitors is to throw their opponent off their feet. Action is allowed only in a standing position and only throws and leg sweeps can be used.  Therefore, athletes who have strong hands will have more of an advantage than their rivals. “Thủy knew that and she played to her strengths to win,” he said.

In other sports, Hà Thị Nguyên grabbed a bronze medal in the women’s 62kg in taekwondo.

Bùi Thị Yến Ly beat Wei Ying Cheryl of Singapore in the semi-finals of the women’s 51kg muaythai. She will compete against Fatemeh Yavari from Iran in the finals tonight.

Her teammate Trương Thị Hồng Nga will also fight for a gold medal in the women’s 63.5kg class against Wankrue Janejira of Thailand.

On Wednesday, Nguyễn Thanh Tùng grabbed a bronze medal in the men’s 70kg pool.

In futsal, Việt Nam secured a second win in Group A after beating Solomon Islands, three-time World Cup participants, 2-1.

Phạm Đức Hoà opened the score for Việt Nam at the third minute, and Phùng Trọng Luân took it to 2-0 after the intermission. George Martin Stevenson narrowed the result for Solomon towards the end of the match.

With six points, Việt Nam stands second in the group. They need at least one point from their match tonight against the hosts, who are currently in the top spot, to advance to the quarterfinals.

In swimming, Việt Nam’s favourites Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên and Nguyễn Hữu Kim Sơn will begin their quest for gold on Friday.

Viên, the 29th Southeast Asian Games’ eight-time winner, will take part in the 100m backstroke, 200m freestyle, 100m and 200m individual medley. Viên is the Games’ record holder in the 200m individual medley (IM), with a time of 2min-10.5sec.

Fifteen-year-old Sơn will compete in the men’s 100m breaststroke, 200m freestyle and 200m IM.

Currently, Việt Nam is at four golds, five silvers and eight bronzes, ranking ninth in the medal tally.

Turkmenistan is in the top spot, with 53 gold medals. Iran is second, with 10, and Uzbekistan is third, with seven. — VNS