At the 2023 Asian Gymnastics Championships, Khanh Phong won the silver medal in the men's rings event with 14.366 points, surpassing his two rivals Kiu Chong (Hong Kong-China, 14.100 points) and Carlos Yulo (Philippines, 14.033 points). The gold medal in this event went to Chinese athlete Lan Xingyu with 15.200 points. This marks the second time Khanh Phong has defeated Carlos Yulo, a multiple world champion and four-time Asian champion. Previously, at the 32nd SEA Games, Khanh Phong beat Carlos Yulo to win the gold medal in the men's rings event for the Vietnamese team .

Khánh Phong is in good form recently. Photo: DŨNG PHƯƠNG

At the conclusion of the tournament in Singapore, the Japanese gymnastics team won first place overall with 11 gold medals. The Chinese gymnastics team ranked second with 7 gold medals... The Vietnamese and Jordanian gymnastics teams each won 1 silver medal, ranking jointly 8th.

The last time Vietnam's gymnastics team won a medal at the Asian Championships was in 2019 in Mongolia, with two bronze medals in the parallel bars and horizontal bar events won by athletes Dinh Phuong Thanh and Le Thanh Tung. Meanwhile, the most recent gold medal for the Vietnamese gymnastics team at the Asian Championships was won by athlete Le Thanh Tung in the vault event, in 2017.

At the 2023 Asian Gymnastics Championships, the Vietnamese women's team did not perform successfully. Mr. Bui Trung Thien, head of the Gymnastics Department (General Department of Physical Education and Sports), stated: “The Vietnamese gymnastics team currently has two official spots at the 2023 World Gymnastics Championships: Khanh Phong and Van Vi Luong. The World Championships in Belgium this August will consider the results for the International Olympic Committee and the International Gymnastics Federation to award direct spots at the 2024 Paris Olympics.”

As a fundamental Olympic sport, Vietnamese gymnastics has achieved many successes over the years despite limited funding. For three consecutive Olympic Games (2012, 2016, and 2020), Vietnamese gymnasts qualified and participated in the Games. Therefore, after achieving their goals at the 32nd SEA Games, the Vietnamese gymnastics team is striving for a bronze medal at the 19th Asian Games in 2023 (held in Hangzhou, China) and to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Coach Truong Minh Sang of the Vietnamese gymnastics team said: “The Olympic qualification standards for gymnastics are getting higher and higher. While in some sports the Asian Games are considered one of the Olympic qualifying events, gymnastics skips this competition. Therefore, the coaching staff and athletes of the Vietnamese gymnastics team must make great efforts to win a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics.”

Currently, the Vietnamese gymnastics team is focusing its investment on three athletes: Khanh Phong, Xuan Thien, and Hai Khang, in the campaign to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

CAM TU