Vietnamese Karatedo achieves a "hat-trick" of gold medals.

Karate fighter Dinh Thi Huong successfully defended her gold medal in the women's -68kg kumite category.

★ Vietnamese karate fighter Hoang Thi My Tam brought home the first gold medal in the women's -61 kg kumite (sparring) category after a convincing 11-2 victory over her Thai opponent in the final. My Tam displayed outstanding performance, proactively increasing the pace, completely dominating the match, and controlling the fight with precise and decisive strikes. As the match progressed, her clear advantage became even more apparent, leading to a decisive victory.

★ Karate fighter Nguyen Thanh Truong won the gold medal after a 4-1 victory over his Indonesian opponent in the men's -84 kg kumite final. Playing patiently, Thanh Truong prioritized defense, waiting for opportunities to counterattack and turn the tide, before controlling the pace, neutralizing attacks, and delivering a decisive final blow to secure a convincing victory.

★ Vietnamese martial artist Dinh Thi Huong successfully defended her gold medal in the women's -68kg kumite category after an 8-5 victory over Yefanza (Indonesia) in the final. In a closely contested match, she demonstrated her composure, experience, and excellent situational awareness, delivering precise blows at crucial moments to maintain her advantage until the end of the match.

In the same karate discipline, Vo Van Hien lost 3-9 to an Indonesian fighter in the men's -75kg kumite final, winning a silver medal.

★ Female taekwondo fighter Tran Thi Anh Tuyet won the gold medal in the women's 57 kg category after a dramatic 2-1 victory over defending champion Phannara Harnsujin (Thailand) on the final day of competition. Anh Tuyet won the first round convincingly 7-2, overcame several disadvantageous moments in the second round before demonstrating superior composure, physical strength, and technique to win decisively 8-3 in the final round.

On the same day, Ly Hong Phuc and Nguyen Thi Loan won silver medals in the men's under 74kg and women's under 53kg categories, respectively. At the end of the competition, the Vietnamese taekwondo team successfully met its target with 4 gold medals, 4 silver medals, and 4 bronze medals.

★ On the athletics track, Nguyen Thi Oanh won the gold medal in the women's 5,000m event after an outstanding performance. She quickly took the lead, controlled the pace of the race, and together with Le Thi Tuyet, created a clear gap with the chasing group, turning the race into an all-Vietnamese competition.

In the final two laps, Nguyen Thi Oanh surged ahead, finishing first with a time of 16 minutes 27 seconds 14, while Le Thi Tuyet won the silver medal. This victory further solidified Nguyen Thi Oanh's position as the region's number one in middle and long-distance events.

★ The Vietnamese athletics team won the gold medal in the 4 x 400m mixed relay with a time of 3 minutes 15 seconds 07, breaking the SEA Games record. The team, consisting of Ta Ngoc Tuong, Nguyen Thi Ngoc, Le Ngoc Phuc, and Nguyen Thi Hang, coordinated well. Ta Ngoc Tuong took the lead in the first leg, maintaining a steady pace in subsequent legs despite the pursuit of Thailand, before Nguyen Thi Hang accelerated in the final leg to cross the finish line first.

In the same athletics event, Le Thi Cam Tu won a silver medal in the women's 200m race with a time of 23.14 seconds.

★ Vietnamese swimmers experienced mixed emotions in the men's 200m freestyle final at the 33rd SEA Games. While Nguyen Huy Hoang couldn't maintain his pace, finishing fourth and missing out on a medal, 17-year-old Tran Van Nguyen Quoc caused a major surprise with a strong surge, finishing second with a time of 1 minute 48 seconds 70, just 0.06 seconds behind Malaysia's gold medalist. In the women's 400m individual medley, Vo Thi My Tien won the silver medal with a time of 4 minutes 47 seconds 39.

★ In the women's 10m air rifle team event, shooter Phi Thanh Thao set a SEA Games record in the qualifying round with 627.6 points after 60 shots, including a third shot of 106.1 points, surpassing the previous record of 627 points. Also qualifying were Le Thi Mong Tuyen (624.6 points) and Nguyen Thi Thao (620.6 points).

However, in the team final, due to psychological pressure, the trio did not perform at their best, only winning a silver medal with a total score of 1,872.8. In the women's 10m air rifle individual event, Thanh Thảo and Mộng Tuyền reached the final, with Mộng Tuyền winning a bronze medal.

★ The Vietnamese chess team (including players Bao Khoa, Thien Hai, Thanh Ninh, Gia Bao, Quoc Dung, and Phuong Thao) won the Silver medal in the mixed team Makruk standard chess event (4 men, 1 woman) after losing to Thailand in the final. The decisive match was tense, with both teams battling fiercely on each board, but ultimately, the Vietnamese team lost with a score of 1.5–3.5.

★ In weightlifting, the women's 53kg category witnessed fierce competition for the top two positions between Vietnamese and Thai athletes. Nguyen Hoai Huong had an impressive start in the snatch, successfully lifting 88kg, just 1kg less than the Thai athlete (89kg).

Due to an unsuccessful third snatch attempt, Hoai Huong was temporarily ranked second. Moving on to the clean and jerk, Hoai Huong successfully lifted 104kg and 109kg, but failed to clear the decisive 112kg. In the end, she achieved a total lift of 197kg and won the silver medal.

SIDELINES

The Vietnamese women's football team is determined to win.

The semi-final match in women's football between the Vietnamese and Indonesian women's national teams will take place at 4 PM today (December 14th) at the IPE Chonburi Stadium (Thailand). Speaking to the press before the match, coach Mai Duc Chung affirmed that he and his team have thoroughly studied their opponent and are determined to win.

Compared to the recent AFF Cup, the Indonesian women's team has undergone many changes in personnel, with the addition of four high-quality naturalized players. They are physically strong, tall, and excellent at long balls, aerial passes, and heading, but Vietnam has countermeasures to deal with their superior ball control and coordination.

Coach Mai Duc Chung stated: "We will play a high-pressing game, maximizing the abilities and strengths of each player to perform at their best, without relying on physical strength and without giving the opponent any space to operate."

Indonesian coach Akira Higashiyama is also confident that they "will make history" as this is the first time the Indonesian women's team has reached the top four at the SEA Games.

For the first time, Southeast Asia has achieved world- class status in the 100m race.

At the age of 19, Thailand's "prodigy" Biu Puripol Boonson caused a sensation at the 33rd SEA Games yesterday by shattering the Games record that had stood since 2009 (10.17 seconds) with a time of 9.94 seconds in the qualifying round, and also breaking the Asian U20 record.

This achievement has been recognized by the World Athletics Federation, placing Puripol among the world's most promising sprinting talents and in the top 3 fastest 100m runners in Asia.

Puripol was also the fifth fastest U20 100m runner in world athletics. In the subsequent final, Puripol went on to achieve a time of 9.99 seconds, winning the gold medal. This was a source of pride for Southeast Asian athletics, marking the first time a world-class athlete had run the 100m under 10 seconds.