According to AFP news agency, among the thousands of athletes from Southeast Asia competing in the 2023 SEA Games, which will open in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) on May 5, there are 9 faces that are the most prominent stars.
Among them, Vietnamese sports has 2 representatives: Nguyen Thi Tam in boxing and Nguyen Thi Oanh in athletics.
Boxer Nguyen Thi Tam made a big splash when she won a silver medal at the women's world boxing championship in India last March (Photo: IBA).
Nguyen Thi Tam, 29, is the number one boxer in Southeast Asia. She just became the first Vietnamese boxer to win a silver medal at the women's world championship in India in March, in the under-50kg category. Previously, this girl from Thai Binh also won a silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games and won the Asian championship twice in 2017 and 2022.
AFP assessed that Nguyen Thi Tam has Olympic qualifications and is aiming to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics after being present at Tokyo 2020. In the last two SEA Games, she won gold medals in the under-51kg category.
Notably, this weight class was not included in the competition program at the 32nd SEA Games by the host Cambodia, so Nguyen Thi Tam had to compete in the under 54kg class. However, the girl from Thai Binh still set the goal of winning a gold medal for the Vietnamese Boxing team.
Nguyen Thi Oanh is unrivaled in the 1,500m, 5,000m and 3,000m hurdles at recent SEA Games (Photo: character provided).
The second Vietnamese star mentioned by AFP is track and field athlete Nguyen Thi Oanh. In the last three SEA Games, the 27-year-old runner had no rivals in the 1,500m and 5,000m distances. In the last two SEA Games, Nguyen Thi Oanh even participated in the 3,000m steeplechase and won two gold medals.
In 2023, Nguyen Thi Oanh surprised everyone by winning the 1,500m gold medal at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in February in Kazakhstan. At the 32nd SEA Games, Nguyen Thi Oanh will face many difficulties when having to defend all 3 titles in just 2 days.
Besides the two Vietnamese athletes, there are 7 other stars named by AFP in the top athletes to watch at the 32nd SEA Games, such as Puripol Booson - the Thai athlete who ran the fastest 100m under 18 years old in the world with 10.09 seconds, winning the 31st SEA Games gold medal.
Other stars include gymnast Carlos Yulo (Philippines) who won 5/7 gold medals at the 31st SEA Games, track and field athlete Shanti Pereira (Singapore), billiards legend Efren Reyes (Philippines), pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena (Philippines), weightlifter Vanessa Sarno (Philippines), Jiu-jitsu athlete Jessa Khan (Cambodia) and taekwondo athlete Panipak Wongpattanakit (Thailand).
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