Vietnam wraps up SEA Games 2017 with 58 gold medals

Vietnam officially concluded their campaign at the 29th SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on August 29th, settling for third place overall with a collection of 58 gold, 50 silver and 60 bronze medals.

August 30, 2017 | 19:35

(VNF) - Vietnam officially concluded their campaign at the 29^th SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on August 29^th, settling for third place overall with a collection of 58 gold, 50 silver and 60 bronze medals.

On the last day of competition, weightlifter Hoang Tuan Tai brought home the final medal for Vietnam after taking bronze in the men’s 185kg category with a total lift of 322kg, one kilogram fewer than the Malaysian silver medalist and 15kg behind the gold medal winner from Thailand.

Tai’s bronze also marked the conclusion of the Vietnamese athletes’ mission at the Games. With 58 titles won, the national sporting delegation have reached their target of securing 49-59 gold medals and defending a top-three finish in the overall medal count.

Vietnam wraps up SEA Games 2017 with 58 gold medals

Weightlifter Hoang Tuan Tai secures the last medal for Vietnam in Kuala Lumpur. (Photo: VNA)

The Singaporean athletes failed in all of their four final matches on Wednesday, thereby completing their SEA Games 2017 competition in fourth-place, with just one gold medal fewer than Vietnam’s tally.

Thailand won an additional title in the men’s 1,000m skating event this morning to successfully defend second place with 72 gold medals.

Hosts Malaysia topped the overall medal table, winning a total of 145 gold, 92 silver and 86 bronze medals.

The closing ceremony of the 29^th SEA Games is scheduled to take place at around 8.30pm (Vietnamese time) today.

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency, Tran Duc Phan, who headed the Vietnamese team at the event, who is also Deputy Director of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training, said Vietnamese runners have achieved a breakthrough.

Vietnam’s delegation to SEA Games 29 had 681 members, with 472 athletes competing in 32 out of 38 sports at the event. The country finished with 58 gold medals, compared to her goal of between 49 and 59 gold medals.

Phan noted more than 90 per cent of gold medals seized by Vietnam this season belong to the Olympic sports category, adding that the figure for the last SEA Games was 87 per cent.

It means Vietnam is on a right track in facilitating athletes’ preparation for the 2018 Asian Games and 2020 Summer Olympics’ qualification round./.