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Wushu martial artists bring home first two golds
  • | Nhan Dan | August 20, 2017 03:11 PM
Finally the Vietnamese sports delegation has earned their first gold medal at the on-going 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Malaysia. The "golden girl" wushu competitor, Duong Thuy Vi, bagged a gold medal in the women’s jianshu event and, a few minutes later, it was Hoang Thi Phuong Giang's turn to win another gold medal in the women's wushu event.



On the first day of competition the Vietnamese wushu team, with Thuy Vi bringing home the first gold medal for the Vietnamese sports delegation at SEA Games 29. (Screenshot capture).


On the first official day of competition in the SEA Games 2017 on August 20, the Vietnamese sports delegation raced into the day in hope of winning several gold medals. The focus was on the "gold mine" of the wushu team, as the Vietnamese martial artists attended the six finals of Taolu (Routines).

The 2014 Asian Games champion Duong Thuy Vi was expected to bring home the first gold medal for the wushu team this morning.

Before Vi’s performance, Phoon Eyin, from the hosts Malaysia, temporarily led the women’s jianshu event with a high score of 9.63 points, putting Thuy Vi under a lot of pressure.

However, elegant sweeps of the sword, combined with rotation and jumps in the air, helped the "golden girl", born in 1993, to win 9.67 points, thereby winning the gold with just 0.04 points more than her opponent.

This is also the third consecutive SEA Games gold medal for Vi in her field, following her winning the championship title at the SEA Games 2013 and 2015.

After a few minutes, the good news continued to flow when Vi's teammate Phuong Giang also excelled in bringing home the second gold medal for the wushu team in the women's gunshu event.

Following Thuy Vi's gold, Hoang Thi Phuong Giang wins another gold medal in the women's gunshu event. (Screenshot capture)

Although not as highly regarded as Thuy Vi, Phuong Giang entered the competition with the determination to defend her gold medal which she won at the 28th SEA Games. The Hanoian athlete put in a good performance, scoring 9.64 points, the highest score in this competition and beating the host’s runner-up Loh Ying Ting, who scored 9.63 points, just 0.01 points behind.

The result means Phuong Giang won the second gold medal for the Vietnamese sports delegation at SEA Games 29.

Unfortunately, in the men's gunshu event, reigning SEA Games champion Tran Xuan Hiep was ultimately unsuccessful. He lost his momentum and landed badly while moving perfectly. With this error, the Vietnam athletes won just 8.80 points and had no chance of competing for a medal.

In the afternoon, the Vietnamese wushu team continued to compete in three other finals. The smooth start, with two gold medals, is expected to provide great motivation for the wushu martial artists to earn further positive results.

Besides wushu, gymnastics and archery are also expected to reap gold medals later today. The greatest hope of the archery team is in female archer Loc Thi Dao, who has previously won the Asian championship title. The Vietnam men's gymnastics team, with the participation of Pham Phuoc Hung, will participate in the qualifying and final event tonight.

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