Asian Games

HÀ NỘI — People’s Public Security sports made a notable contribution to Việt Nam’s campaign at the Asian Games 20 (ASIAD), with their athletes helping secure two gold and five bronze medals for the country.

Việt Nam’s sports delegation returned home on Sunday with three gold, three silver and 19 bronze medals after a challenging campaign at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

The results reflected the efforts of the athletes and coaching staff at one of Asia’s largest sporting events. The team made a major contribution, with its athletes helping take two of Việt Nam’s three gold medals.

On September 22, Nguyễn Ngọc Trâm from People’s Public Security joined her teammates Bùi Ngọc Nhi and Hoàng Thị Thu Uyên in the women’s kata team event. The trio delivered a strong performance and beat their opponents 5-0 to win Việt Nam’s first gold medal at ASIAD 20.

A day later, shooters Trịnh Thu Vinh, Nguyễn Thùy Trang and Bùi Thúy Thu Thủy scored 1,719 points to claim bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol team event. Việt Nam finished ahead of India on the countback based on the number of inner-ten shots.

On September 24, Vietnamese esports won its first Asian Games medal with a bronze, marking a milestone for the sport in the country. All five members of the Vietnamese NARAKA: Bladepoint team – Trần Công Tình (Pampy), Lại Nguyễn Anh Khoa (Akame), Hồng Phát (PhatMilk), Văn Phúc An Khang (Yin) and Diệp Chí Hiếu (LyPolaris) – are People’s Public Security competitors.

Later that day, Lê Ngọc Phúc joined his teammates to win bronze in the mixed 4x400m relay, giving Vietnamese athletics its first medal at the Games.

Diệp Thị Hương and Nguyễn Thị Hương also took bronze in the women’s C2 500m canoeing event in 1min 57.255sec, marking Việt Nam’s first canoeing medal at ASIAD.

The second gold came on the morning of October 3, when People’s Public Security athletes Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Huyền and Hoàng Thị Thu Thảo, members of Việt Nam’s women’s four-player team, helped beat Thailand 2-1 in the sepak takraw final.

Their victory saw Việt Nam successfully defend the title it won at ASIAD 19 in Hangzhou in 2023. It also marked the second gold medal involving People’s Public Security athletes at ASIAD 20, contributing to two of Việt Nam’s three golds at the Games.

With two gold and five bronze medals, People’s Public Security fulfilled its target of two gold medals set before the delegation left for Japan.

The result continued the contribution of People’s Public Security to Việt Nam’s achievements at major international sporting events. At ASIAD 19 in Hangzhou, they also contributed to two gold medals.

These back-to-back results show that the force has kept pace with the development of Vietnamese sports and is making an increasingly visible contribution at major international competitions.

The Ministry of Public Security has paid close attention to the development of key sports, helping People’s Public Security sports expand in both breadth and depth and make its mark at major competitions.

The growing contribution of People’s Public Security is also seen as a positive sign of diversified investment in sport, with the common goal of helping Vietnamese sports improve its performance at major events such as the Asian Games and, further ahead, the Olympics.

A Games marked by new developments

Held in Aichi-Nagoya from September 19 to October 4, ASIAD 20 featured 43 sports, 71 disciplines and 469 medal events, bringing together athletes from 45 countries and territories.

It was Japan’s third time hosting the Asian Games, following Tokyo in 1958 and Hiroshima in 1994.

The Games featured an increasingly diverse range of sports. Alongside Olympic sports and traditional Asian disciplines, new events included teqball, padel, MMA and virtual taekwondo. Esports also returned after making its medal debut at ASIAD 19 in Hangzhou.

China topped the medal table with 169 gold, 89 silver and 83 bronze medals. Japan finished second with 83 gold, 95 silver and 91 bronze medals, while South Korea was third with 39 gold, 43 silver and 68 bronze medals.

Việt Nam finished 20th overall with 25 medals, moving up one place from the previous Games.

Vietnamese delegation head Nguyễn Hồng Minh said the three gold medals reflected the efforts of the entire delegation and provided valuable lessons for Vietnamese sports in the next stage of development.

He highlighted the performances of female athletes in events that had received focused preparation and investment, as well as the women’s sepak takraw team’s two gold medals after victories over tough opponents Thailand, saying the results confirmed the effectiveness of focusing resources on key sports. — VNS