SEA Games 33: Vietnam’s explosive performances claim 84 gold medals

The afternoon of December 19 continued to witness a strong surge by the Vietnamese sports delegation at the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, as powerhouse sports such as wrestling, boxing, aerobic gymnastics and chess delivered gold medals, pushing Vietnam’s total golds to 84.

In men’s freestyle wrestling, Vietnamese wrestlers dominated the competition. Pham Nhu Duy won gold in the 57kg category after a convincing 10-1 victory over his Philippine opponent in the final. Nguyen Huu Dinh followed with a gold medal in the 65kg category, defeating the SEA Games 32 champion Tubor Romil of the Philippines 10-1.

Most impressively, Can Tat Du continued to affirm his legendary status in Vietnamese wrestling by winning gold in the 74kg category. He defeated Indonesia’s Daniel Gabriel Thomas in just 32 seconds, securing his sixth SEA Games title.

In aerobic gymnastics, the Vietnamese group comprising Hoang Gia Bao, Phan Thi Uyen Nhi, Truong Ngoc Diem Hang, Nguyen Che Thanh and Dang Chi Bao claimed gold in the group event.

Chess remained a “gold mine” for Vietnam, with the team securing their second gold medal of the day. In the women’s rapid chess doubles final, Pham Le Thao Nguyen and Vo Thi Kim Phung defeated Indonesia 1.5-0.5. Earlier, the Vietnamese men’s pair had also captured gold after overcoming Malaysia.

In boxing, Ha Thi Linh won gold in the women’s 60kg category after a points victory over a Thai boxer in the final. Meanwhile, Nguyen Huyen Tran lost to a Thai opponent in the women’s 57kg final and settled for silver.

With this impressive series of achievements in the afternoon, the Vietnamese delegation continued to closely chase the top positions on the medal table, as December 19 is considered a decisive day for determining the final rankings at the tournament./.