Pham Tien San won the first gold medal in Duathlon for Vietnam at SEA Games 31. (Photo: VNA)

First gold medal in Duathlon: Athlete Pham Tien San won the first gold medal in Duathlon for Vietnam at the 31st SEA Games on May 15 on Tuan Chau beach in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

San finished first in the competition with a time of 1:55:58. Ferbriade Rudi and Johan Jauhari, both of Indonesia, secured the silver and bronze medals at a time of 1:56:12 and 1:57: 36, respectively. 31-year-old San had won three silver medals at SEA Games held in 2013, 2015, and 2017.

Vietnamese wushu athlete Hoang Thi Phuong Giang (Photo: VNA)

Wushu athlete claims more golds: Vietnamese wushu athlete Hoang Thi Phuong Giang won a gold medal on May 15, the last competition day of the sport at SEA Games 31. With 9.71 points, Giang brought home the gold medal in the women’s Changquan category. Her teammate, Duong Thuy Vi also bagged a bronze medal in the event.

In the women's taijijian event, Tran Thi Minh Huyen secured silver and Tran Thi Kieu Trang pocketed a bronze for Vietnam. The gold medal came to Wong Agatha Chrystenz of the Philippines. On the same day, Pham Quoc Khanh also won a silver for Vietnam in the men’s category, apart from a gold he earned earlier.

On May 13 and 14, Vietnamese wushu athletes bagged three gold and five bronze medals after two days of wushu taolu competitions. Duong Thuy Vi secured two gold medals in the women’s jianshu and qiangshu. The bronze medalists are Ngong Van Huu (two medals), Dang Tieu Binh (two medals), and Hoang Thi Phuong Giang (one medal).

SEA Games 31’s wushu competitions have come to an end, with Vietnam earning a total of 20 medals, including 10 golds, three silvers and seven bronzes. It has the highest number of golds among participating teams, ten out of 21.

Vietnam's Chinese chess squad secures a gold medal with 12 points after winning all six rounds in the team's blitz chess event. (Photo: VNA)

Gold medal in blitz chess: Vietnam's Chinese chess team on May 15 secured an absolute victory in the team's blitz chess event, bringing home another gold medal at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31). Four teams, namely Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and hosts Vietnam, competed in the blitz chess event with two players from each squad joining.

The Vietnamese team won the gold medal with 12 points after winning all six rounds. The Singaporean team won the silver and the Malaysian squad bagged the bronze with seven and three points, respectively. On May 14, the Vietnamese squad won a gold medal in the team's fast chess event.

Kin Wai Seck, head coach of the Philippine team, said Vietnam is the strongest team in Southeast Asia. In Asia, Vietnam ranks second just after China so this result is understandable.

Grandmaster Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (left) wins a gold medal in the men’s standard chess category while Hoang Thi Bao Tram secures a bronze medal in the women’s group. (Photo: VNA)

Gold in standard chess: Grandmaster (GM) Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son earned the first gold medal for Vietnamese chess on May 15 in the framework of the ongoing 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31). He beat 11 rivals to triumph in the men’s standard chess category with seven points after nine matches.

In the last game, Son defeated Lye Lik Zang of Malaysia after 39 moves. The victory helped the Vietnamese player retain the No 1 position in the men's group, contributing to fulfilling the Vietnamese chess team's goal of achieving five golds in 10 events at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31).

The silver and bronze medals in this category went to Ervan Mohamad of Indonesia and Tin Jingyao of Singapore, respectively.

Vietnamese fencer Bui Thi Thu Ha defeats her opponent from Singapore Ong Shu Hui Jessica in the women’s sabre individual event in Hanoi on May 15. (Photo: VNA)

Third gold medal in fencing: Vietnamese fencer Bui Thi Thu Ha defeated her opponent from Singapore Ong Shu Hui Jessica in the women’s sabre individual event in Hanoi on May 15, earning the country the third gold medal in fencing at the ongoing SEA Games 31. She has just been back for training after an eight-month maternity leave.

Ha repeatedly went behind the Singaporean rival but managed to bounce back to claim a 15-11 win at the end. It is the first time she has topped an individual event at SEA Games. She said she was very happy and wanted to dedicate the gold medal to her coaches and teammates as well as the Vietnamese fans.

A men's beach volleyball game between Vietnam (in red) and Cambodia on May 15. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam defeats Cambodia in the opener of men’s beach volleyball: Vietnam won 2 - 1 over Cambodia in the opener of the men’s beach volleyball at the ongoing SEA Games 31 on May 15. In the first two matches, Team Vietnam 2 beat Cambodia 2 - 0 but Team Vietnam 1 lost 0 - 2 to their Cambodian opponents, leading to a golden set where the hosts earned a 2 - 1 win.

Australian expert Adam Maskell of Vietnam held that the players’ performance was not bad, but they still lack experience and need more learning. On the same day, both the Philippines and Thailand secured 2 - 1 victories over Singapore and Malaysia, respectively. The women’s beach volleyball games also kicked off at the Tuan Chau international tourism complex in Quang Ninh province later on May 15.

Vietnamese tennis player Chanelle Van Nguyen faces Thailand’s Kumkhum Luksika in the finals of the women's team event on May 15. (Photo: VNA)

Silver in women's team tennis: Vietnam on May 15 claimed a silver medal in tennis after losing to Thailand in the finals of the women’s team event at the ongoing SEA Games 31. The Vietnamese women’s team suffered a 0-2 loss at the Hanaka Paris Ocean Park tennis court complex in Tu Son city, the northern province of Bac Ninh to finish second. They were followed by the Philippines and Indonesia in third place.

In the first match, Savanna Ly Nguyen, a silver medalist at SEA Games 30 in the Philippines, was defeated 0-2 by Chanta Anchisa from Thailand, who possessed strength and good techniques.

The second match saw Chanelle Van Nguyen, Vietnam’s highest world-ranked tennis player, facing Thailand’s Kumkhum Luksika. After losing 1-6 to the Thai rival in the opening round, the Vietnamese player recovered to win 6-0 in the second set. However, she was again outlasted 1-6 by Luksika in the third set, failing to make a comeback for the Vietnamese team overall.

Le Thi Thuy Trang (16) of Vietnam vies for the ball with a Myanmar player at the game on May 15. (Photo: VNA)

Emphatic win for Vietnam at first match in women’s futsal: Vietnam obtained an emphatic 6 - 0 victory over Myanmar in their opener in the women’s futsal of the ongoing SEA Games 31 on May 15. Determined to win, Vietnamese players launched continuous attacks as soon as the match, held at the gymnasium of Ha Nam province, started.

Bien Thi Hang scored the first goal for Vietnam in the 5th minute, followed by successful attempts by Nguyen Thi Chau, Le Thi Thanh Ngan, and Nguyen Thi Van Anh. The first half ended with a 4 - 0 score for the hosts. The next goal, by Le Thu Thanh Huong, came right in the first minute of the second half. The 6 - 0 result was settled when Ya Min Lwin of Myanmar scored their own goal in the final minute.

In the previous match, Thailand’s female futsal players defeated Malaysia 4 - 0.

SEA Games 31: Vietnam bag first gold in pétanque (Photo: VNA)

First gold in pétanque: Vietnam’s pétanque players bagged the first gold medal at the ongoing SEA Games 31 after beating Malaysia in the finals of the women’s doubles event held in Hanoi on May 15. Winning 13-5 against their Cambodian rivals in the semifinals, Thai Thi Hong Thoa and Tran Le Lan Anh claimed an emphatic 13-2 victory over Malaysia’s Nurashimah Senin and Sharifah Aqilah Farhana Syed Ali to top the event.

Head coach Dang Xuan Vui said he hopes the gold medal will be a source of motivation for the team to achieve good results in the coming games. It is the first time Thoa and Anh have played for the national team in the region’s biggest sports event. Vietnam also secured one bronze in pétanque on the day. So far, the Vietnamese team has earned one gold, one silver, and two bronzes in the sport.

Tran Hoang Duy Thuan and Bui Thi Thoa of Vietnam (centre) win the gold medal in the mixed doubles category of bodybuilding on May 15. (Photo: VNA)

Bodybuilders pocket two more gold medals: In the women’s singles, Dinh Kim Loan obtained a gold while her teammate Bui Thi Thoa a bronze medal. Both showed excellent performance against strong rivals from Malaysia and Thailand. In the mixed doubles, Tran Hoang Duy Thuan and Bui Thi Thoa also gained the top place. Thuan was the one who earned a gold medal in the men’s 70kg category on May 14.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Minh Tien ranked second to bring home a silver in the men’s classic singles, following Mohd Mahen of Malaysia. With these medals, Vietnamese athletes got a total of five golds in bodybuilding after three competition days, according to VNA.

Vietnamese runner Nguyen Thi Oanh makes a gold hat-trick after two days of competition. (Photo: VNA)

Runner makes a gold hat-trick: Vietnamese runner Nguyen Thi Oanh has named herself as one of the stars of SEA Games 31 by making a gold hat-trick after two days of competition. Oanh triumphed in the women’s 1,500m and 5,000m on May 14. She is also the winner of the women’s 3,000m hurdles the following day, clocking 9 min 46 sec to break her own record of 10 min and 0.02 sec set at SEA Games 30 in the Philippines.

She was awarded the gold medals by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam. The 27-year-old athlete, who was diagnosed with glomerulonephritis, has dominated the women’s 1,500m, 5,000m and 3,000m hurdles at the region’s biggest sports event since 2017.

Ho Thanh Minh scores a header goal in the 63th minute, securing a 2-0 win for Vietnam. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam advances to semifinals after victory over Timor Leste: Vietnam’s U23 football team secured a berth in the semifinals of SEA Games 31 after winning 2-0 against Timor Leste in its final Group A match at Phu Tho’s Viet Tri Stadium on May 15.

In this game, coach Park Hang-seo gave the chance to many young players, such as center defender Duy Cuong, midfielders Trong Long and Cong Den, and stickers Thanh Minh and Van Tung while most of the key players were put on the bench.

Vietnam led Group A thanks to the victory, followed by Indonesia after defeating Myanmar 3-1.

Sea Games 31 medal chart as of May 15, 2022 (Photo: Sea Games 2021)

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