HÀ NỘI — Athletes from the southern provinces of An Giang and Cà Mau, and HCM City won the first gold medals in fitness and bodybuilding at the National Sports Games in Hà Nội on Wednesday.

In the first day of competition, Trần Thị Cẩm Tú of An Giang performed outstandingly to secure the first title in the women’s 155cm fitness event. She left Trần Thị Thanh Tâm of HCM City and Lâm Ngọc Lan Phương of Đồng Nai Province far behind.

HCM City’s Phạm Thị Phương Thảo later triumphed in the women’s 160cm fitness and her teammate Nguyễn Thị Kim Dung took the second gold for the team in the women’s 165cm fitness.

Nguyễn Thị Kim Cương from Cà Mau overcame other competitors to win the women’s over-165cm fitness event.

In diving, Hải Phòng’s team pocketed their first title after Dương Văn Thành and Nguyễn Tùng Dương put in an impressive performance to win the men’s synchronised platform event, leaving behind title favourites Vũ Anh Duy and Phương Thế Anh of the host city. Võ Trọng Thành and Bùi Xuân Hào of HCM City and the Đồng Nai divers were second and third, respectively.

In badminton, HCM City easily won the men’s team title after beating Hà Nội 3-0 in the final. Meanwhile, Bắc Giang struggled but managed to defend their title, defeating Thái Bình 3-2 in the women’s team event.

The singles events will follow in the coming days at the Cầu Giấy District Gymnasium. — VNS