Asian Games

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese weightlifter Trịnh Văn Vinh narrowly missed out on the gold medal to Indonesian Eko Yuli Irawan in the men’s 62kg category in the Asian Games at the JIExpo yesterday.

With the total lift of 299kg, Vinh could only manage silver. While Irawan successfully lifted a total of 311kg from the two lifts to grab the gold. Ergashev Edkhamjon from Uzbekistan won bronze after scoring a total lift of 298kg.

Vinh’s result was highly appreciated by Vietnamese experts as it is the first time Vinh has took part in the Asian event.

Vinh said he was very happy to bring home a third silver medal for Việt Nam but he also regretted that he couldn’t gain gold because of a back injury he picked up before heading to Indonesia.

“My result today was very good. I felt that I could take a gold. However, after the back injury two weeks ago my form was not as good as I hoped,” said Vinh.

“My doctor always cared for me and followed me since I came to Indonesia,” Vinh added.

Last year, 23-year-old Vinh won a gold and broke two SEA Games records in the men’s 62kg and he also earned a gold medal at the IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Anaheim, the United States.

Meanwhile, top swimmer Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên failed in the women’s 400m medley final, finishing fifth out of eight swimmers with a time of 4:42.81.

Ohashi Yui of Japan bagged a gold medal with a time of 4:34.58, followed by Kim Seoyeong of South Korea and Shimizu Sakiko of Japan.

Two medals for wushu

Earlier, Vietnamese wushu artists also brought home two medals.

In the men’s nanquan and nangun, Phạm Quốc Khánh won a silver medal with a score of 19.42 points, only 0.01 points lower than gold medalist Junhua Huang from Macao.

Khánh’s silver medal is the best result ever for Vietnamese wushu at the ASIAD. Khánh himself was also surprised with his silver medal.

In the women’s jianshu and qiangshu all-around event, Dương Thúy Vi earned a bronze with a score of 19.40.

“I am not satisfied with my bronze but I tried my best,” said Vi.

Four year ago, Vi snatched the first gold medal for Việt Nam at the Asian Games. Last year, Vi brought home the first gold medal ever for Việt Nam at the World Wushu Championships in Kazan, Russia, after overcoming 16 competitors to take the top honour in the women’s qiangshu.

“As Asian defending champion, I was under pressure so it affected my performance,” said Vi.

Vi said she was amazed that Kiani Zahra of Iran beat her.

“I’ve met Zahra many times at international events and know her ability. However, she has made fast progress this year to beat me to take silver,” Vi added.

In other shocking news, Vietnamese Olympic gold medallist Hoàng Xuân Vinh failed to qualify in the 10m air pistol. He only ranked ninth in the qualifying round with 579 points.

Earlier, Vinh said that his gold medal in the Rio Olympics put pressure on him for the games in Indonesia.

Việt Nam lose to Japan

Việt Nam’s women’s team lost to Japan 0-7 in their second match of Group C at the Asian Games (ASIAD) 2018 in Indonesia yesterday. With this loss, Việt Nam ranks second in the group with three points.

After their wins over Thailand in their opening matches, both Việt Nam and Japan will progress to the quarterfinal. Both teams rested their best players in the match and introduced reserve players.

Evaluated as the best team in Group C, Japan played the upper hand and controlled the match right from the beginning. With good personal skills and cooperation, the Japanese soon had the opener in the 5th minute by forward Sugasawa. It took them just 12 more minutes to score their second goal. Japan scored their third goal in the 38th minute of the first half.

Coach Mai Đức Chung’s team struggled to see off the constant attacks from their counterparts. However, in the second half, Vietnam’s team conceded an additional four goals in the 52nd, 64th, 77th and 88th minute. The best opportunity that Việt Nam created was a far shot by Nguyễn Thị Vạn in the 49th minute.

Ranked second in the group, Việt Nam will face the second ranked team of Group A, Chinese Taipei, in the quarterfinal scheduled for August 24. — VNS