Asian Games

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese weightlifter Thạch Kim Tuấn brought home the country’s first silver medal at the Asian Games (ASIAD) today.

Tuấn finished second in the men’s 56kg category with a total lift of 280kg. Om Jun Chol of North Korea took gold medal with 287kg and Indonesian Bin Suwoto Surahmat won bronze medal with 272kg.

Another Vietnamese representative in this event, Trần Lê Quốc Toàn finished fourth lifting 271kg.

Tuấn, 24, from the southern province of Bình Thuận, established a glorious milestone for Việt Nam as he swept all three gold medals of the men’s 56kg at the IWF World Championships in Anaheim, the United States last year. He also won gold medals at the SEA Games, National Weightlifting Championships, Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.

In the female category, Vương Thị Huyền finished fourth with a total lift of 181kg in the women’s 48kg, while Nguyễn Thị Thúy came in a place behind lifting 177kg.

Yesterday also saw young swimmer Nguyễn Huy Hoàng shine in the men’s 800m freestyle. He took a bronze after clocking a time of 7:54.32. Sun Yang of China won gold with a time of 7:48.36, while the silver medal went to Japanese Takeda Shogo with a time of 7:53.01.

In other news, the Vietnamese male volleyball team caused an upset beating three-time ASIAD champions China 25-23, 26-24, 19-25, 22-25 and 21-19 in the first match of Group E.

China are No 1 seed of the group and are now world No 20.  It is the first time Việt Nam has beaten China.

“Today, Việt Nam played extremely outstandingly. They proved themselves in each position. This win gives the team a great advantage in the group as China are their archest rival,” said general secretary of Việt Nam Volleyball Federation, Lê Trí Trường.

“The whole team are very tired following a tense and dramatic game. However, we are very happy as we beat China in the continental event. We are very proud,” said Việt Nam’s No 1 attacker, Từ Thanh Thuận.

Việt Nam’s next games will be against Thailand and Sri Lanka.

ASIAD’s men’s volleyball teams are divided into six groups. The best 12 teams will compete for the first to 12th place.

In tennis, Lý Hoàng Nam had a good start, easily beating Ahmed Saai Waheed of Maldives 6-0, 6-0 in the first round of men’ singles.

In the women’s sepak takraw, Việt Nam also made fans jump for joy with their 2-1 win against Japan.

In the wushu’s performance, Trần Thị Khánh Ly ranked fourth with her total point of 19.34. The gold medal belonged to Indonesian Lindswell Kwok with a total score of 19.50 points. The second place earned by Hong Kong athlete Juanita Mok Eun Ying, while the bronze medal secured by the Philippines athlete Chrystenzen Wong Agatha. — VNS