Tran Van Nguyen Quoc won the silver medal in the men's 200m freestyle individual event at the 33rd SEA Games - Photo: NGUYEN KHOI
On the evening of December 13th, Vietnamese swimming at the 33rd SEA Games continued to receive good news. Despite competing in short-distance events that are not their forte, our swimmers still brought home valuable medals.
The biggest surprise came from 17-year-old swimmer Tran Van Nguyen Quoc, who won a silver medal in the 200m freestyle with a time of 1 minute 48.70 seconds. Notably, his time was only 0.06 seconds slower than his Malaysian opponent, Khiew Hoe Yean.
Senior athlete Nguyen Huy Hoang only finished in 4th place with a time of 1 minute 50 seconds 68.
Earlier, Nguyen Quoc also won a gold medal in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay and a bronze medal in the 100m freestyle.
The 17-year-old swimmer is making the entire regional swimming community marvel - Photo: NGUYEN KHOI
In fact, Khiew Hoe Yean is not an unfamiliar name in Southeast Asia. This Malaysian swimmer has dominated the 200m freestyle event in many consecutive SEA Games and is at the peak of his career. The fact that a 17-year-old rookie like Nguyen Quoc could create a breathtaking chase and only lose to the "legend" from his neighbor by a split second (0.06 seconds) is an extremely positive sign for Vietnamese swimming.
Sharing his thoughts after winning the silver medal, the Vietnamese swimmer couldn't hide his mixed emotions. While pleased to have surpassed his own limits, he felt a little regretful for narrowly missing out on the gold medal.
"I have a little regret. I haven't trained much for this 200m race, but the time I achieved today was 1 second better than my performance at the recent Asian Championships. Although I lost very narrowly, I did my best and surpassed myself," Nguyen Quoc said.
Few people know that, in order to deliver such a spectacular performance that evening, the 17-year-old swimmer had to overcome the psychological pressure after a disappointing qualifying round that morning.
According to the coaching staff, the chances of Nguyen Quoc and Khiew Hoe Yean winning the gold medal in this event were assessed as 50-50. However, the Malaysian opponent, with his extensive experience and the composure of a champion from many previous Games, had a slightly better finish.
Tran Van Nguyen Quoc made a lightning-fast sprint in the final meters to win the silver medal - Photo: NGUYEN KHOI
Notably, Nguyen Quoc revealed that the 200m freestyle is not his highest goal. The young swimmer's ambition is: "My main focus is the 400m freestyle, with the goal of beating Huy Hoang."
Speaking about his breathtaking sprint that left the entire arena in awe, Nguyen Quoc said: "When I swam upstream, I couldn't see my opponent, but when I swam downstream, I tried to sprint. It's a little regrettable that I was slightly behind at the finish line."
Despite losing to the SEA Games champion, the 17-year-old asserted that this was not the end, but the beginning of a future upset.
"I will try my best to surpass this Malaysian athlete within the next two years," Nguyen Quoc shared.
With his silver medal at the age of 17, Tran Van Nguyen Quoc is proving himself to be a worthy successor to Vietnamese swimming after his predecessors Huy Hoang, Thanh Bao, and others.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/kinh-ngu-17-tuoi-khien-ca-lang-boi-sea-games-kinh-ngac-20251213194836272.htm
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