Vietnam ranks third overall at 28th SEA Games

The men's volleyball team brought home the last silver medal for Vietnam on Tuesday morning after losing 0-3 to Thailand in the final.

Earlier on June 15, Vietnam also won a silver medal in the women's volleyball and took home an additional four bronze medals in the men's football, women's triple (petanque), women's singles (badminton) and women's doubles (sepak takraw).

Vietnam sent a delegation of 570 members to Singapore, with 392 athletes competing in 28 out of 36 events, targeting to earn from 56 to 65 gold medals and securing a top-three finish in the overall medal count.

The athletics team accounted for the most gold medals, with 11 won for Vietnam at the 28th SEA Games, including many new Games records. The team's most outstanding performer was Nguyen Thi Huyen, who captured three gold medals (two individual and one team), broke three Games records and secured two 2016 Olympic berths in the women's 400m and 400m hurdles.

The swimming team took home 10 gold medals, the second largest number of golds won,, with swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien taking centre stage in both the domestic and international media with eight individual golds and eight new SEA Games records. Anh Vien carved her name into the SEA Games history as the athlete to win the most individual gold medals, surpassing Singaporean athletes, Jescelin Yeo and Tao Li, who blasted seven each in 1993 and 2011 respectively.

The fencing team experienced a memorable SEA Games as well with an eight-gold tally. This was also the first time fencer Nguyen Tien Nhat secured a gold medal despite already having excelled on both the Asian and world arenas.

The gymnastics team brought home nine gold medals for Vietnam from Singapore, with Phan Thi Ha Thanh and Dinh Phuong Thanh accounting for three each. Meanwhile, the rowing team went beyond expectation slamming eight gold medals, double its target set ahead of the Games.

The 28th SEA Games was a positive sign for Vietnamese sports as over two thirds of its gold medals won this year came from Olympics events.

(Source: Nhandan Online)