Nguyen Thi Oanh extends her record.

On the track and field, Nguyen Thi Oanh continued to shine and completed a hat-trick of gold medals at the 33rd SEA Games. Meanwhile, in other sports, Vietnamese athletes continuously faced disadvantages from the referees.

I WANT TO BREAK MY OWN LIMITS

At Suphachalasai Stadium (Bangkok) on the afternoon of December 16th, Nguyen Thi Oanh continued to demonstrate her class in middle-distance running, finishing the 3,000m steeplechase alone. This completed her hat-trick of gold medals at the 33rd SEA Games (she had previously won gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m events). The athlete, born in 1995, made history in Vietnamese athletics with a total of 15 SEA Games gold medals, becoming the Vietnamese athlete with the most SEA Games gold medals (counting only active athletes).

Radiant faces

Nguyen Thi Oanh had no rivals in the events she participated in.

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

Nguyen Thi Oanh affirmed that her journey of conquering her own limits is far from over. "I am temporarily satisfied with myself and very happy to have completed my mission at the SEA Games 33. However, I will continue to train hard and strive even harder to improve my performance and break my own limits in the future."

For young athlete Bui Thi Kim Anh, the future remains bright as this is her first SEA Games. Clearing the 1.86m bar in her final attempt, the 2006-born athlete was overwhelmed with emotion as she won the SEA Games gold medal and triumphed over her own limitations. "In 2025, I will never clear the 1.8m bar. After many failures, I have worked harder to improve my performance. I set a goal for myself to conquer the SEA Games record," she expressed.

The final athletics events at the 33rd SEA Games witnessed a spectacular performance by the Vietnamese women. Nguyen Thi Ngoc and her teammates secured the gold medal in the women's 4 x 400m relay. In addition, Tran Thi Loan (long jump) also brought home a gold medal for Vietnamese sports yesterday afternoon.

At the 33rd SEA Games, Vietnamese athletics won a total of 12 gold medals, ranking second after the host country (13 gold medals). Nguyen Thi Oanh was the athlete who won the most gold medals for Vietnam in individual events. In addition, Nguyen Thi Ngoc also won 3 gold medals (1 individual: women's 400m, 2 team events: 4 x 400m medley, 4 x 400m women's).

THE FRUSTRATING WORK OF ARBITRATION

Yesterday, Vietnamese athletes faced several setbacks following referee decisions in combat sports. As a result, the Vietnamese team missed opportunities to win many gold medals. In the semi-final of the men's 60 kg pencak silat event, Vietnamese martial artist Vu Van Kien broke down in tears on the mat. Specifically, while leading the Thai athlete, Kien landed a legitimate kick aimed at his opponent's abdomen. However, the referee unexpectedly declared Kien the loser, much to the surprise of the coaching staff and fans. Coach Nguyen Van Hung explained that this was because the Thai athlete had deliberately put his face in the path of Kien's kick and then covered his face, causing the Vietnamese representative to be unfairly disqualified. Kien also insisted that he only kicked his opponent in the neck, not the face.

Thu Hoai (right) was unfairly treated.

A similar incident occurred in fencing. In the women's sabre semi-final, Pham Thi Thu Hoai had a chance to come from behind and beat the Thai athlete. She scored four consecutive points, narrowing the score to 11-12. Facing this crucial point, Thu Hoai struck her opponent. It seemed the Vietnamese athlete had leveled the score at 12-12, but the referee awarded the victory to the Thai fencer. Although Thu Hoai tried her best afterward, due to her frustration, she lost the point and ultimately lost 13-15, settling for the bronze medal. Coach Nguyen Le Ba Quang (Vietnam fencing team) asserted that the referee's decision was wrong. During the match, Coach Quang repeatedly reacted strongly to the officials and stated that he would petition the SEA Games organizing committee to change the referee and adjust the way the match was officiated.

The repeated unfair decisions from the referees not only cost the Vietnamese sports delegation valuable gold medals but also negatively impacted the athletes' morale. While it's understood that errors are always possible in competitive sports, the barrage of unfavorable decisions against Vietnam in direct confrontations with Thailand raises serious questions about the fairness and transparency of the SEA Games 33.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nguyen-thi-oanh-noi-dai-ky-luc-185251216224107727.htm