Athletics and Kun Bokator martial arts help Vietnamese sports delegation accelerate

At the end of May 8 - the third official competition day of SEA Games 32, the Vietnamese sports delegation won 15 more gold medals.

SEA Games 32 Athletics and Kun Bokator martial arts help Vietnamese sports delegation accelerate — ***Athlete Nguyen Thi Oanh competed excellently, successfully defending her SEA Games gold medal in the women's 5000m event.*** Photo: Minh Quyet/VNA

Two important sports, athletics and Kun Bokator, helped the Vietnamese sports delegation break through to the second position on the medal table. At Morodok Techo Stadium, athlete Nguyen Thi Oanh successfully defended the gold medal she won in the 5,000m event at the 31st SEA Games. Another gold medal that Vietnamese athletics won on May 8 was in the mixed 4x400m relay event of athletes Tran Nhat Hoang, Nguyen Thi Hang, Tran Dinh Son and Nguyen Thi Huyen. Meanwhile, in the men's 200 meter event, although he did not start well, after the first 100 meters, Ngan Ngoc Nghia was able to accelerate to reach the finish line and finish second with a time of 20 seconds 84, behind Thai runner Dapbang - who won the gold medal with a time of 20 seconds 62. Vietnamese athletics also could not successfully defend Luong Duc Phuoc's two gold medals in the men's 1,500 meter event when his Thai opponent Kieran Tuntivate was too strong.

Kun Bokator martial art has become a "gold mine" for the Vietnamese sports delegation when it brought home 6 gold medals, with the victories of Pham Thi Phuong, Nguyen Thi Thanh Tuyen, Tran Vo Song Thuong, Huynh Van Cuong, Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai and Ngo Duc Manh.

In men's football, U22 Vietnam had an important 2-1 victory over U22 Malaysia to officially qualify for the semi-finals one round early.

In addition, the Vietnamese team also won 10 silver medals and 9 bronze medals.

As of 9:30 p.m. on May 8, Vietnam ranked second in the overall rankings, with 30 gold medals. Host country Cambodia led with 37 gold medals.