Asiad 17: Taekwondo wins 2 more bronze medals
On the competition day of October 2, martial artists Ha Thi Nguyen and Pham Thi Thu Hien brought home two more bronze medals for the Vietnamese sports delegation.
In the two semi-finals of Taekwondo, 62kg and 67kg, Ha Thi Nguyen and Pham Thi Thu Hien both faced opponents from the host country, Korea. Pham Thi Thu Hien entered the match first, meeting her opponent Lee Dabin. She had a fairly even match with her opponent, before the referee recognized an unclear 3-point kick by Lee Dabin. Under pressure from the host country, Thu Hien had to accept defeat with a score of 2-9 and received a bronze medal.
Ha Thi Nguyen (red armor) competes with her Korean opponent in the semi-final match. (Photo: Trong Phu)
In an interview with VOV, martial artist Pham Thi Thu Hien said: “In this round, all opponents are strong. I tried to overcome the first two rounds to compete for the medal. My Korean opponent is taller and faster than me, but unfortunately I did not take advantage of some opportunities to advance. When I came here, I was determined to win the gold medal and tried my best, but unfortunately I did not succeed.”
In the semi-final match of the 67kg weight class, Ha Thi Nguyen faced Lee Wonjin (Korea). Ha Thi Nguyen played quite well in this match and led for most of the time. However, a mistake at the end of the match caused her to lose 2 consecutive points and had to accept the bronze medal with a score of 2-5.
Semi-final match between Pham Thi Thu Hien (red) and home boxer Lee Dabin. (Photo: Trong Phu)
Speaking after the match, Ha Thi Nguyen expressed her regret for not having more time to train: “I didn’t play very well in the first match. But in the following matches, I showed my true form. I think if I had more time to train with the Korean coach, the chance of winning would have been higher. In my opinion, Vietnamese Taekwondo has made quite rapid progress recently.”
In the men's 63kg category, Le Huynh Chau was unfortunately defeated by Kitwijarn (Thailand) with a score of 1-4. The two bronze medals of Ha Thi Nguyen and Pham Thi Thu Hien raised the total number of medals of the Vietnamese sports delegation to 35, but there was only 1 gold medal./.
According to VOV
