SEA Games 33 schedule, December 14th: Trinh Thu Vinh and Do Thi Anh Nguyet enter the competition, awaiting breakthroughs in archery and shooting.

VHO - After four days of intense competition and many changes in the overall medal standings, the 33rd SEA Games entered December 14th – a day considered pivotal for the Vietnamese sports delegation in the race for medals. Besides the "traditional" sports like swimming and athletics continuing to compete, the focus of December 14th shifted to shooting and archery, where Vietnam placed high hopes on athletes who have proven their class at the continental and Olympic levels.

Trinh Thu Vinh takes to the field: awaiting the missing "SEA Games puzzle piece".

The biggest highlight of the December 14th competition schedule is the appearance of Trinh Thu Vinh – a Vietnamese shooting star who has made a name for herself on the international stage.

This female shooter is entering the 10m air pistol event, her specialty that earned her a place at the 2024 Paris Olympics after ranking 5th in the world in 2023, and then winning the gold medal at the 2024 Asian Championships.

Despite her impressive track record, a SEA Games gold medal remains the only title missing from Thu Vinh's collection.

At the 31st SEA Games, she only won a bronze medal in the individual event and a silver medal in the team event. Therefore, December 14th holds special significance: it's not just a competition, but also an opportunity for Thu Vinh to "seal" her position as the number one athlete in Southeast Asia in the 10m air pistol event.

Alongside the women's individual team, the Vietnamese shooting team... Team and individual men's events will also be held throughout the day, promising a "heated" day at the shooting range in Bangkok.

Archery: Ánh Nguyệt returns, determined to reclaim the gold.

Besides shooting, archery is another highly anticipated sport on December 14th, with Do Thi Anh Nguyet in the spotlight. The female archer previously won a gold medal in recurve archery at the 2019 SEA Games, but missed out on the most recent SEA Games when archery was removed from the competition program.

Returning to the SEA Games 33, Anh Nguyet entered the individual and team recurve events with great determination. With a stable professional foundation, extensive international competition experience, and a psychological advantage from continental championships, archery was considered one of the "bright spots" for Vietnam to find more gold medals on December 14th.

Swimming: penultimate day, focus on relay events.

Swimming enters its penultimate day of competition, with a series of important events taking place in the evening. Notable events include: men's 200m breaststroke, women's 4x200m freestyle relay, and men's 4x100m freestyle relay.

These are all events where Vietnamese swimming traditionally competes for medals, especially in relay races – where consistency and coordination can make all the difference. After days of competition with many silver and bronze medals, the Vietnamese swimming team aims to convert opportunities into gold medals to improve their position in the overall standings.

In addition, the qualifying and final rounds of the women's 50m freestyle and men's 50m butterfly events also took place on the same day, opening up further opportunities to accumulate medals.

Athletics: Marathon and 20km walk speak for themselves.

In contrast to the fast-paced atmosphere of the previous days, athletics on December 14th shifted to events requiring endurance and long-distance prowess. Notable events included: Men's 20km race walk; Women's 20km race walk; Men's marathon; Women's marathon.

These are events where Vietnamese athletics doesn't often win gold medals, but there's still the potential for surprises if athletes maintain their rhythm and employ sound tactics under challenging weather and track conditions.

Many martial arts and team competitions continue.

In addition to the main events, the Vietnamese sports delegation's schedule on December 14th also spans many other disciplines:

Karate and taekwondo continue with team events;

Judo, kickboxing, and Muay Thai enter the qualifying and final rounds;

Volleyball, beach volleyball, women's soccer, and women's futsal continue to compete in important matches.

Canoeing and rowing, road cycling, golf, bowling, and e-sports all feature Vietnamese athletes competing.

The high density and spread across many sports made December 14th one of the busiest days for the Vietnamese delegation since the beginning of the SEA Games 33.

Waiting for a boost from sports that "hit the right targets".

After dropping to third place in the overall standings, the Vietnamese sports delegation entered December 14th with pressure but also many opportunities. Shooting and archery – two highly specialized sports with little dependence on host country factors – were expected to provide a boost in gold medals, while swimming and athletics continued to play a role in accumulating medals.

Therefore, December 14th is not just an ordinary competition day, but also a test of Vietnam's mettle in the long race at the SEA Games 33: whether the team can make good use of strategic "peak moments" to narrow the gap with the leading group, or whether they will have to continue waiting for the days of explosive performances ahead.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/lich-thi-dau-sea-games-33-ngay-1412-trinh-thu-vinh-and-do-thi-anh-nguyet-into-the-competition-for-a-breakthrough-from-gun-and-shooting-188236.html