Nhi Yen quenches the thirst for Asian medals for Vietnamese athletics

Female athlete Tran Thi Nhi Yen has quenched the medal thirst of the Vietnamese athletics team at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships.

At the age of 19, Tran Thi Nhi Yen is already Vietnam's number 1 speed runner, won 2 silver medals at the U20 Asia and attended the 2024 Paris Olympics - Photo: AFP

The 2025 Asian Athletics Championships will take place from May 27 to 31 in Gumi, South Korea.

After 2 days of competition, some Vietnamese athletes unfortunately missed out on medals such as Nguyen Thi Oanh (women's 1,500m), Nguyen Thi Ngoc (women's 400m), Nguyen Thi Huong, Tran Thi Loan (women's triple jump), and Luong Duc Phuoc (men's 1,500m).

In the afternoon competition of May 28, the Vietnamese athletics team ended its thirst for medals with an excellent performance by speed runner Tran Thi Nhi Yen in the women's 100m event.

From the qualifying round results, Nhi Yen only ranked 5th out of 8 athletes in the finals, rated lower than top competitors such as reigning Asian champion Shanti Pereira (Singapore) and runners from China and Japan.

Starting in lane 4, Nhi Yen had a good start, continuously in the leading group for 50m and maintained well to finish in 3rd place, winning the bronze medal with a time of 11.54 seconds.

The gold medal went to Liang Xiaojing (China) - 11.37 seconds. The silver medal went to Shanti Pereira (Singapore) - 11.41 seconds.

Nhi Yen's current personal best is 11.40 seconds - a national youth record and won the silver medal at the 2024 U20 Asia.

The medal of this runner born in 2006 is a great encouragement for Vietnamese track and field athletes in the following competition days.

Vietnam athletics team attends 2025 Asian Championship - Photo: VAF

At the Asian Athletics Championships, the Vietnamese athletes participating included many key players such as: Nguyen Thi Oanh (1,500m, 5,000m), Nguyen Trung Cuong (3,000m hurdles), Sam Van Doi, Luong Duc Phuoc (800m, 1,500m), Quach Thi Lan (400m hurdles), Nguyen Thi Ngoc, Nguyen Thi Hang, Hoang Thi Minh Hanh (4x400m women), Huynh Thi My Tien (100m hurdles).

Besides, there are also promising faces expected to soon break through, including: Nguyen Thi Thu Ha (800m, 1,500m), Le Ngoc Phuc, Ta Ngoc Tuong (400m, 4x400m mixed), Tran Thi Nhi Yen (100m, 200m), Bui Thi Kim Anh (high jump), Vu Thi Ngoc Ha, Tran Thi Loan, Nguyen Thi Huong (long jump, triple jump).

According to experts, not only Vietnam, but also other national teams have the best professional preparation and strength for the 2025 Asian Athletics Championship. Because this is also an opportunity for countries to review their strength, find the main frame to aim for higher tournaments such as the 2026 Asian Games and the 2028 Olympic qualifiers.

Commenting before the tournament started, Mr. Nguyen Duc Nguyen - in charge of athletics at the Vietnam Sports and Physical Training Department - said: "The tournament will help Vietnamese athletics assess our level of expertise compared to Asia.

In addition to professional goals, the tournament is also an opportunity for the coaching staff to gain more information about Southeast Asian opponents, who are also actively preparing for the 33rd SEA Games. Notably, the Philippines seems to have a plan to naturalize athletes to compete for gold medals with Vietnam and Thailand.

HOANG TUNG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nhi-yen-giai-con-khat-huy-chuong-chau-a-cho-dien-kinh-viet-nam-2025052818594687.htm