Weightlifting has two Olympic champions.
Weightlifting at the 33rd SEA Games attracted the attention of fans with the presence of two Olympic champions, Rizki Juniansyah (Indonesia) and Hidilyn Diaz (Philippines). At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Rizki Juniansyah excellently brought home the prestigious gold medal for Indonesian weightlifting in the men's 73 kg weight class. Switching to the 79 kg weight class at the 2025 World Championship, Rizki Juniansyah still affirmed his talent when winning the gold medal. At the upcoming 33rd SEA Games, this 22-year-old talent is expected to compete in the 79 kg weight class and has almost no worthy opponents.
Paris 2024 Olympic weightlifting champion Rizki Juniansyah will compete
PHOTO: IWF
Meanwhile, Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Hidilyn Diaz returns to the SEA Games arena after a period of absence. Because the 33rd SEA Games does not have a 55 kg weight class, Hidilyn Diaz will compete in the 58 kg weight class. Unlike Rizki Juniansyah, Hidilyn Diaz is doubtful about her performance due to her recent lack of good results. Therefore, she will have to compete fiercely with opponents from host Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. In addition to the two Olympic champions, weightlifting at the 33rd SEA Games also has the presence of the reigning world champion in the men's 71 kg weight class, Weeraphon Wichuma (Thailand), and the world runner-up in the men's 60 kg weight class, Theerapong Silachai (Thailand). These are also the two runner-up athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics, so they promise to shine on home soil.
Vietnamese weightlifters once had Hoang Anh Tuan winning a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Tran Le Quoc Toan winning a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. The next generation of athletes, although achieving positive results at the SEA Games (most recently winning 4 gold medals), have not yet made a breakthrough to compete in larger arenas. At the 33rd SEA Games, Tran Minh Tri (men's 65 kg category) was the biggest hope for Vietnamese weightlifting. This 21-year-old athlete demonstrated his ability with a gold medal at the 2025 Asian Games held in May in China.
Badminton stars battle
Badminton at the 33rd SEA Games also attracted fans with the participation of a series of top players in the world. In the women's singles category, there was the participation of 2013 world champion Intanon (Thailand, ranked 8th in the world), and the world's third-ranked athlete Putri Wardani (Indonesia, ranked 7th). In the men's singles category, there were the reigning Olympic runner-up and world runner-up Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Thailand, ranked 3rd), Jonatan Christie (Indonesia, ranked 4th). In the doubles category, the advantage belonged to Malaysia with top players such as Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik (men's doubles, ranked 2nd), Tan Pearly/Thinaah Muralitharan (women's doubles, ranked 2nd), Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei (mixed doubles, ranked 3rd).
Countries in the Southeast Asian region such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia are all world badminton powerhouses, possessing strong and even squads of players. Therefore, Vietnam’s No. 1 player Nguyen Thuy Linh (ranked 22) will have to compete fiercely in the women’s singles.
Carlos Yulo is unfortunately absent.
The Philippines' No. 1 sports star Carlos Yulo (who won 2 gold medals in gymnastics at the 2024 Paris Olympics) will not participate in the 33rd SEA Games. This is considered a regrettable absence but also opens up competition opportunities for the remaining athletes, including Vietnamese athletes. The host country Thailand's taekwondo star Panipak Wongpattanakit (who won a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics) will also not compete in the 33rd SEA Games because he has announced his retirement.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dan-vdv-dang-cap-the-gioi-gop-mat-o-sea-games-33-18525112721091607.htm
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