Couple 'afraid of ghosts' but not afraid of SEA Games pressure

The ju-jitsu team's performance, mimicking a "zombie," just won them a bronze medal in the women's performance event. This is Vietnam's first medal at the 33rd SEA Games.

On the morning of December 10, Ju-jitsu “took the lead” for the Vietnamese Sports Delegation in the women’s performance category with the pair of athletes Phung Thi Hong Ngoc and Nguyen Ngoc Bich. The Vietnamese women’s pair passed the qualifying round with 8 athletes and advanced to the final.

The athlete couple Phung Thi Hong Ngoc and Nguyen Ngoc Bich finished just behind two pairs of home athletes in the women's jujitsu performance final. Photo: Minh Chien.

In the final with 3 other couples (two from Thailand, one from Laos), the Vietnamese athletes competed well, achieving 48.0 points, ranking third and winning the bronze medal. The medal of Hong Ngoc and Ngoc Bich is the first medal for the Vietnamese Sports Delegation at the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand. They ranked only behind two couples from the host country, Thailand. The Thai athletes' gold medal performance used a fan dance, achieving 51.0 points.

Hong Ngoc and Ngoc Bich’s performance included the movements of a “zombie” and their performances. Interestingly, both Vietnamese athletes are very afraid of ghosts. While preparing for the SEA Games, they decided to turn this weakness into a strength, staging an interesting performance that was suitable for Thai culture to bring to the SEA Games.

Two pairs of Thai athletes shared the gold and silver medals. Photo: Minh Chien.

Hong Ngoc and Ngoc Bich's performance was considered creative, close to Thai culture, with many beautiful performances, creating an exciting atmosphere in the stadium. However, the Vietnamese athletes were not able to overcome their Thai opponents, who were very strong and were competing on home ground.

Besides the women's performance event, ju-jitsu also has 9 other final events. With the presence of Vietnamese athletes on the competition day of December 10, the coaching staff still hopes to see a gold medal in this competition.

In addition to ju-jitsu, the first gold medal of the Vietnamese delegation at this Games could also appear in taekwondo or canoeing.

Source: https://znews.vn/cap-doi-so-ma-nhung-khong-so-ap-luc-sea-games-post1609951.html