Thach Kim Tuan wins gold medal in weightlifting at the SEA Games.

The weightlifter from Binh Thuan province brought home the first gold medal of the day on August 28th, and the 53rd gold medal for the Vietnamese delegation at this year's Games.

With 120kg in the snatch and 149kg in the clean and jerk, Kim Tuan achieved a total lift of 269kg. This is far below his personal best total lift (296kg, set at the 2015 World Championships), but it is still the best among the male weightlifters in the 56kg category competing in this morning's final.

Kim Tuan won partly because he didn't have to compete with stronger rivals. Photo:Pham Duong.

In the snatch event, Kim Tuan registered a starting weight of 120 kg, the highest among the six athletes, and therefore competed last. The Vietnamese weightlifter easily cleared this weight to take the lead. Afterwards, the coaching staff increased the weight to 125 kg and 130 kg in the final two attempts, but Kim Tuan failed to successfully complete both.

Kim Tuan's main rivals in this event were Surahmat Bin Suwoto of Indonesia and Muhamad Azroy Hazalwafie of host country Malaysia. Surahmat successfully lifted 110kg, 115kg, and 119kg respectively. Meanwhile, Muhamad Azroy only managed to lift 115kg on his second attempt and failed at 118kg on his final attempt.

In the clean and jerk competition, Kim Tuan surpassed 146kg and then 149kg.He had the gold medal firmly in his grasp before the third attempt.After that, the coaching staff increased the weight for Kim Tuan to 153kg, but he was unsuccessful. Thai weightlifter Witoon Mingmoon made a strong breakthrough in this part of the competition, lifting the same weight as Kim Tuan at 149kg. However, because Witoon Mingmoon only managed to lift 110kg in the snatch, he finished second with a total lift of 259kg.

Results of the men's 56kg final on the morning of August 28th.

Emerging after winning the gold medal at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games, this weightlifter from Binh Thuan province began to assert his position as the number one in Vietnamese weightlifting, replacing his senior teammate Hoang Anh Tuan who retired and transitioned to coaching.

For the past four years, Kim Tuan has consistently been Vietnam's greatest hope in weightlifting whenever they compete internationally.She has won two bronze medals and one silver medal at the World Championships, as well as silver medals at the Asian Games and the Asian Championships. In the 56kg category, the athlete born in 1994 is ranked among the strongest in the world, only slightly behind top weightlifters such as Yun Chol (North Korea) or Wu Jingbiao (China).

This victory in Kuala Lumpur gives Kim Tuan his second SEA Games gold medal, after his first win in 2013.

According to VNE