Martial artist Tuấn wins gold for vovinam team

Martial artist Lê Hồng Tuấn (left) competes with Wichian Sripaengpong of Thailand in the final of the men’s 55kg category on May 21. — VNA/VNS Photo Tuấn Đức

Thanh Nga

HÀ NỘI — Martial artist Lê Hồng Tuấn brought the Vietnamese vovinam team one more gold medal on May 21.

Tuấn made fans at the Sóc Sơn Gymnasium jump for joy as he smashed Wichian Sripaengpong of Thailand 11-1 in the final of the men’s 55kg category to take the gold medal.

Earlier, Tuấn defeated Din Ten of Cambodia 8-4 in the semi-final.

The Cambodian athlete won the world championship twice in the 54kg weight class in 2017 and 2019. He also won the Asian title in 2018.

Tuấn proved his power as he faced a strong opponent from Cambodia. He controlled the game from the beginning and took the lead of 5-1 at the end of the second half.

In the third half, Din attacked more to level the score. The Cambodian player scored two points continuously to narrow the gap to 5-3. However, Tuấn still calmly chose the right time to counterattack and score more points to win the match.

The victory over Din and the exciting atmosphere at Sóc Sơn Gymnasium boosted Tuấn’s spirit.

In the final, the Vietnamese player completely overwhelmed his Thai rival.

In addition to Tuấn’s gold, the Vietnamese vovinam team took another silver medal in the male pair weapon practice, machete form, through Lâm Đông Vượng and Trần Thế Thường.

The Vietnamese duo scored 264 points, 5 points behind the Cambodian pair Chi Piseth and Meth Sopheaktra.

So far, vovinam has brought the Vietnamese sports delegation five gold, five silver and two bronze medals. — VNS