SEA Games 33, Day Five (December 14): "Double Gold" winners from shooting, volleyball, and women's football all advance to the finals.

VHO - The fifth day of competition at the 33rd SEA Games (December 14) witnessed an emotional scenario for the Vietnamese sports delegation: shooting exploded brilliantly with records, women's volleyball and women's football extended their journey to the finals, while athletics endured a heavy afternoon marked by falls, exhaustion, and even an apology from "walking queen" Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc.

The 33rd SEA Games are only halfway through since the opening ceremony on December 9th, but the race for the top spot in the overall medal standings is almost decided. After 277 sets of medals have been awarded, Thailand has 132 gold medals , accounting for approximately 48% of the total gold medals in the Games. This figure shows the overwhelming advantage of the host country: Thailand's number of gold medals is almost equivalent to the rest combined, and nearly four times that of Vietnam (34 gold medals). Indonesia currently holds second place with 43 gold medals .

Looking back at the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia, Vietnam won the overall medal with exactly 132 gold medals – the same number of gold medals that Thailand had already won before the 33rd SEA Games ended. At that time, Thailand was ranked second, 28 gold medals behind Vietnam.

Shooting competition opens: Team gold medal breaks record, Thu Vinh makes a spectacular comeback.

In the women's 10m air pistol team event, the trio of Nguyen Thuy Trang, Trinh Thu Vinh, and Trieu Thi Hoa Hong delivered an impressive performance to win the gold medal with a total score of 1711 , breaking the SEA Games record .

This is not just a professional victory, but also a confirmation of the depth of Vietnamese shooting: two shooters (Thuy Trang and Thu Vinh) simultaneously secured tickets to the individual finals, promising to continue competing later this morning.

As expected, the women's 10m air pistol individual final became Vietnam's stage. Trinh Thu Vinh shot a near-perfect final series to win the gold medal with 242.7 points , breaking the SEA Games record once again. Right behind her was Nguyen Thuy Trang with 241.7 points , winning the silver medal , completing a convincing gold and silver double.

Notably, for Thu Vinh, this is the missing "piece" she's been missing for many years. The female shooter, who once finished fourth at the Olympics, has often entered the SEA Games finals with mixed expectations and pressure – and mostly left with regret.

On the morning of December 14th, she admitted feeling relieved to finally have quenched her thirst for a SEA Games gold medal: failure accumulated into experience, and that experience ripened into "sweet fruit" at the right time.

In the men's 10m air pistol team event , shooters Pham Quang Huy, Nguyen Dinh Thanh, and Lai Cong Minh won the silver medal with a total score of 1717 , while Indonesia won the gold medal and broke the SEA Games record (1736).

A silver medal shows that Vietnam is still close to the top group, while also opening up room for improvement in crucial matches – where just a few points could change the color of the medal.

Karate secures the final gold medal with the team spirit of the female players.

In the afternoon, Vietnam received more good news in karate , as the women's team kumite defeated Thailand 2-0 in the final to win the gold medal . In this match, Nguyen Thi Dieu Ly won the opening match to gain an advantage, before Hoang Thi My Tam asserted her dominance with an overwhelming victory, securing the championship.

For My Tam, this was her second gold medal at the 33rd SEA Games (after her individual gold medal on December 13th). For Vietnamese karate, this was also the final gold medal of the sport at this year's Games – a neat and meaningful ending, with the victory coming against host nation Thailand.

Women's volleyball team reaches the final, ready to test their skills against the home team's "fiery" atmosphere.

If shooting created a shower of gold medals at the shooting range, women's volleyball brought a different kind of emotion: the perseverance and solidity of a team that was in perfect form at the right time. In the semi-final, the Vietnamese women's team defeated the Philippines 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-17) to secure their place in the SEA Games 33 final .

This victory is even more remarkable considering that on December 14th, the Huamark Arena was overwhelmed during the other semi-final match between Thailand and Indonesia: spectators poured in exceeding capacity, creating a dense atmosphere. Thailand then defeated Indonesia 3-0 and will face Vietnam in the gold medal match on December 15th. This means that Vietnam not only played against a strong opponent, but also with the immense support of the host nation's massive stadium.

In men's volleyball, Vietnam also secured an important victory, defeating Singapore 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-20), maintaining a favorable momentum ahead of their final group stage match against Thailand on December 16th.

The women's team beat Indonesia 5-0, reaching the final for the 11th consecutive time.

Another piece of good news comes from the football field: the Vietnamese women's football team defeated Indonesia 5-0 in the semi-finals to advance to the final. This marks the 11th consecutive time the Vietnamese women's team has reached the SEA Games gold medal match – a remarkable achievement demonstrating exceptional consistency in regional football.

In a SEA Games marred by organizational issues, controversies, and the pressure of playing away from home, the women's team chose their familiar response: a resounding, decisive victory, and advancement to the next round.

Athletics: Bronze medal, but lingering regret over the falls and Thanh Phúc's apology.

On December 14th, athletics didn't bring in as many gold medals as in previous speed events, but still yielded medals: Bui Thi Thu Ha won a bronze medal in the women's marathon with a time of 2 hours 54 minutes and 49 seconds ; Nguyen Thanh Ngung won a bronze medal in the men's 20km race walk .

However, the biggest athletics story of the day was the moment Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc – the “queen of race walking” – fainted and withdrew from the 20km women's race walk at kilometer 11. Thanh Phuc said she suffered a recurrence of her injury after about 5km, pushed herself to exhaustion, and was unable to continue. Shortly after, she posted a letter of apology for not achieving the desired result and affirmed that she would “heal and return.”

In the men's marathon, Hoang Nguyen Thanh finished fourth with a time of 2 hours 38 minutes and 20 seconds , far short of his personal best and national record. The competition conditions (high humidity, wind, unfavorable return leg) caused many athletes to become exhausted; in the women's marathon, Hoang Thi Ngoc Hoa even had to be taken to an ambulance after crossing the finish line. It was a day of intense athletics, filled with sweat and pushing the body to its limits – where medals couldn't cover all the pain.

Swimming: Thanh Bao wins gold in the frog stroke, Vietnam adds silver and bronze in the relay.

In the swimming pool, the highlight belonged to Pham Thanh Bao . The Vietnamese swimmer won the gold medal in the men's 200m breaststroke with a time of 2 minutes 12 seconds 81 , further affirming his position as the "king of breaststroke" at the SEA Games. Previously, at the 32nd SEA Games, Thanh Bao set SEA Games records in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke; at the 33rd SEA Games, he won the gold medal in the 100m breaststroke (11.12) and now he continues to win gold in the 200m breaststroke.

Besides Thanh Bao's gold medal, Vietnamese swimming also won a silver medal in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay and a bronze medal in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay .

Meanwhile, in the sprint events, Nguyen Thuy Hien finished only 6th in the women's 50m freestyle final (25.70 seconds), while Jeremie Luong was unsuccessful in the men's 50m butterfly.

Other highlights: historic bowling, medal-winning golf, and cycling that couldn't hold onto gold.

Besides the top sports, Vietnam also had a memorable day of competition in many other areas. Bowling : Tran Hoang Khoi (16 years old) defeated the Thai athlete in the men's singles final, bringing home a historic gold medal – the first time Vietnam has won the bowling championship at the SEA Games.

Golf : Vietnam won 1 silver and 2 bronze medals . Nguyen Anh Minh won the silver medal in the men's individual event (208 strokes), Le Chuc An won the bronze medal in the women's individual event (222 strokes), and the men's team won the bronze medal in the team competition.

Table Tennis: Reached the final after 8 years, then narrowly lost to Singapore.

One of the most nail-biting matches of December 14th took place in the evening: the men's team table tennis final between Vietnam and Singapore. Vietnam had reached the final after an 8-year wait and came very close to winning gold, with the match shifting direction several times.

Ultimately, Vietnam lost 3-2 after five sets. In the deciding set, Dinh Anh Hoang lost to Yew En Koen Pang after four sets (winning 11-3 then losing 9-11, 9-11, 7-11). A silver medal may not have fully met their aspirations, but it shows that Vietnamese men's table tennis has returned to the "competitive zone" – and only lacks a bit of composure in the final moments.

List of medals won by Vietnamese sports on December 14th.

Gold medals (5): Nguyen Thuy Trang, Trinh Thu Vinh, Trieu Thi Hoa Hong (Shooting - 10m air pistol team women), Trinh Thu Vinh (Shooting - 10m pistol individual women), Nguyen Thi Dieu Ly, Hoang Thi My Tam, Nguyen Thi Thu (Karate - Kumite team women), Tran Hoang Khoi (Bowling - Men's singles), Pham Thanh Bao (Swimming - 200m breaststroke men).

Silver medals (5): Women's sepak takraw team (Sepak takraw - Regu team), Nguyen Thuy Trang (Shooting - 10m air pistol individual), Nguyen Anh Minh (Golf - Men's individual), Hung Nguyen, Jeremie Luong, Nguyen Quoc, Viet Tuong (Swimming - Men's 4x100m freestyle relay), Nguyen Anh Tu, Nguyen Duc Tuan, Dinh Anh Hoang (Table tennis - men's team).

Bronze medals (7): Nguyen Thi That (Cycling - Women's speed scoring), Quang Thi Tam (Weightlifting - 58kg Women), Anh Minh - Trong Hoang, Anh Huy - Tuan Anh (Golf - Men's team), Le Chuc An (Golf - Women's individual), Kha Nhi, My Tien, Pham Thi Van, Thuy Hien (Swimming - 4x200m freestyle relay Women), Bui Thi Ngoc Ha (Athletics - marathon Women), Nguyen Thanh Ngung (Athletics - 20km walk Men), Nguyen Duc Toan (Weightlifting - 71kg Men).

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/sea-games-33-ngay-thu-nam-1412-cu-dup-vang-tu-ban-sung-bong-chuyen-va-bong-da-nu-cung-vao-chung-ket-188500.html