Sea Games 31 Updates (May 17): Vietnam Tops Medal Tally, Thailand Ranks First in Men Football Group B

Nguyen Doan Minh Truong and Dang Thu Huong of Vietnam in a performance at SEA Games 31 (Photo: VNA)

Dancesport became a 'gold mine’ for Vietnam: Dancesport events are taking place on two days, May 15 and 16 at Long Bien competition hall in Hanoi, with athletes from six countries - the Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam.

The couple Nguyen Trung Kien - Pham Hong Anh of Vietnam walked away with gold in Samba and Rumba, and silver in Cha cha cha. Gold medals in Paso Doble, Jive, and Latin Five Dance went to Nguyen Doan Minh Truong and Dang Thu Huong also of Vietnam.

Three bronzes were brought by Nguyen Duc Hoa and Nguyen Thi Hai Yen in Waltz, Tango, and five Standard Dances. Vu Hoang Anh Minh and Nguyen Truong Xuan won two bronzes in Viennese Waltz and Quickstep.

On May 16, fencers contributed four gold and three bronze medals to the Vietnamese sports delegation at SEA Games 31. (Photo: VNA)

Fourth gold medal in fencing: The Vietnamese team, including Vu Thanh An, Nguyen Xuan Loi, Nguyen Van Quyet, and substitute To Duc Anh, defeated the Thai squad 45-28 to bag the gold medal. In the women’s epee team event, Vu Thi Hong and her teammates failed to reach the final round and shared the bronze medal with the Philippine team.

On May 16, fencers contributed four gold and three bronze medals to the Vietnamese sports delegation at SEA Games 31.

Ha Minh Thanh wins a gold medal in the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam enjoys a good start in shooting: Ha Minh Thanh defeated his Malaysian opponent Hafiz Adzha to win gold in the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol with 27 points. Young shooter Phi Thanh Thao bagged a silver medal after scoring 246.2 points in the women’s 10m air rifle, only 0.8 points behind gold medallist Mubarokah of Indonesia in the final.

Swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang (Photo: VNA)

Swimmers complete medal target: On May 16, swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang broke his own record, with a time of 3 minutes, and 48.06 seconds (old record: 3 minutes and 48.08 seconds) and won a gold medal in the men’s freestyle 400m freestyle event.

Meanwhile, Tran Hung Nguyen finished the men’s 200m backstrokes with a time of 2 minutes and 1.58 seconds and pocketed another gold medal for Vietnam. Also on May 16, Vietnamese swimmers also brought home a gold medal in the 4x100m relay, with a time of 3 minutes and 39.76 seconds.

Vietnam's Quang Thi Thu Nghia (second from left) wins gold for Vietnam's Pencak Silat team. (Photo: VNA)

Pencak Silat team finishes first in the medal table: Vietnam’s Pencak Silat team has topped the medal table of the sport at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31). With 16 competition events, Vietnamese athletes won six gold, two silver, and five bronze medals.

They were followed by Singapore with four golds, three silvers, and four bronzes; and Malaysia with two golds, three silvers, and nine bronzes. Thailand comes second with 36 golds, 38 silvers, and 53 bronzes, and the Philippines stand in third place with 30 golds, 34 silvers, and 44 bronzes.

Players of Thailand (in blue) and Laos vie for the ball. (Photo: VNA)

Thailand top Group B in men’s football: Thailand topped Group B in the men’s football of the ongoing SEA Games 31 after a 1-0 win over Laos on May 16 and will face Indonesia in the semi-finals. Although head coach Alexandre Polking made many changes in Thailand’s line-up compared to the previous match against Cambodia, his team still asserted dominance over Laos.

Thailand took the lead in the 18th minute thanks to an own goal of a Lao defender. Also in Group B, Malaysia advanced to the semi-finals and will play the hosts Vietnam.

Vietnamese athlete Le Tien Long triumphs the men’s 3,000 steeplechase, clocking 9 minutes and 2.84 seconds. (Photo: VNA)

More gold medals for Vietnamese runners: The third day of the athletics competition witnessed the rise of young runners. Among them was Le Tien Long, who triumphed in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase, clocking 9 minutes and 2.84 seconds. It is the first gold medal the 21-year-old athlete from the central province of Ha Tinh has ever secured in his career.

SEA Games 30 gold medalist Do Quoc Luat finished second with a time of 9 minutes and 6.44 seconds. Vu Thi Ngoc Ha also overcame ASIAD 18 champion Bui Thi Thu Thao to dominate the women’s long jump with a leap of 6.39m, 1cm farther than her senior teammate. It is Ha’s first SEA Games gold.

The Vietnamese team received two other golds on the same day, one won by Bui Thi Nguyen in the women’s 100m hurdles with a time of 13.51 seconds and the remainder by Khuat Phuong Anh in the women’s 800m, 2 minutes and 8.74 seconds.

Table of medals. (Photo: Seagames2021.com)

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