On the afternoon of the competition on May 14, Tran Mai Ngoc and Dinh Anh Hoang defeated the Singaporean pair 3-1 in the mixed doubles final to win the 32nd SEA Games Gold Medal, thereby re-establishing the achievement of Vietnamese table tennis at the 1997 SEA Games.
Entering the final, Singapore's veteran duo of Zhe Yu Chew and Jian Zeng were rated much higher than Dinh Anh Hoang (21 years old) and Tran Mai Ngoc (19 years old).
Mai Ngoc's poor mentality at the start of the game caused the Vietnamese pair to fall behind 3-10 in the first set.
It seemed like an overwhelming victory for Singapore, but surprisingly, Anh Hoang and Mai Ngoc coordinated well to equalize the score, even winning with a score of 13-11.
The comeback victory boosted the Vietnamese duo's morale. In particular, female player Mai Ngoc played confidently, making precise loops to create favorable conditions for her teammate Anh Hoang to finish.
In the second game, Anh Hoang and Mai Ngoc continued to play impressively to win another game with a score of 11-8. However, the Singaporean players did not give up, Zhe Yu Chew and Jian Zeng were determined in the third game to win 11-8.
The fourth game seemed to make the whole stadium explode. The two teams competed closely for every point in an extremely dramatic way.
When the score was 13-12, Tran Mai Ngoc had a spin shot that made her opponent stagger in response, creating conditions for her teammate Dinh Anh Hoang to launch a powerful shot, sealing the final victory for the Vietnamese pair.
The Vietnamese table tennis team thus won the first Gold Medal at the 32nd SEA Games. This is also the 94th Gold Medal of the Vietnamese Sports Delegation at the 32nd SEA Games.
Thus, 26 years after the pair Vu Manh Cuong - Ngo Thu Thuy won the Gold Medal in mixed doubles table tennis at the 1997 SEA Games, Vietnamese table tennis can repeat this achievement.
It is worth mentioning that the two young tennis players Dinh Anh Hoang and Tran Mai Ngoc are both students of teacher Vu Manh Cuong.
According to General Secretary of the Vietnam Table Tennis Federation Phan Anh Tuan, the target set for the Vietnamese table tennis team at the 32nd SEA Games is to strive to win at least 1 Gold Medal, and try to reach for the second Gold Medal.
Source: nhandan.vn
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