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| Trương Thị Kim Tuyền (middle) celebrates winning gold medal at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in HCM City on May 26. — VNS |
Viet Nam News
HCM City — Trương Thị Kim Tuyền secured Việt Nam’s first gold medal at the ongoing Asian Taekwondo Championship in HCM City on Saturday.
Tuyền defeated Napaporn Charanawat of Thailand 13 – 5 to win the combat event in the women’s 46kg.
The southern province of Vĩnh Long-born martial artist Tuyền also bested Napaporn 19-8 in the semi-finals of the WTF World Taekwondo Championships in South Korea last year, winning the first world silver medal in Vietnamese taekwondo history.
To reach the final, Tuyền beat Mannopova Madinaboru of Uzbekistan in the semi-finals and crushed Lian Pei Ying of Malaysia in the quarters.
“We trained very hard for this event so I am very happy to gain a gold medal. It is a chance for me to hone my skills for the upcoming Asian Games in Indonesia in August,” said Tuyền.
In addition to Tuyền’s success, Phạm Thị Thu Hiền also brought home a bronze medal in the women’s 57kg category.
The event, which draws nearly 700 athletes from 50 countries and territories, will conclude on May 28.
The event is held by the municipal Department of Culture and Sports and the Vietnam Taekwondo Federation. — VNS
