Việt Nam's 4x400m relay team won a gold in the Asian Athletics Championship which closed on July 16 in Thailand. VNS Photo Minh Minh
HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam finally won a gold medal in the last day of competitions at the Asian Athletics Championship on July 16 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Quartet Nguyễn Thị Ngọc, Hoàng Thị Minh Hạnh, Nguyễn Thị Huyền and Nguyễn Thị Hằng overcame strong rivals to win the women's 4x400m relay, taking the only gold for Việt Nam at the continental tournament.
Japan, India and China proved their power over the six days as they dominated most of the events.
Việt Nam are one of the strongest teams in Southeast Asia but Asia as a whole was a different ballgame.
Despite their best efforts, title hopes such as 1,500m and 3,000 steeplechase runner Nguyễn Thị Oanh, long jumper Bùi Thị Thu Thảo and 5,000m runner Nguyễn Trung Cường failed to make top three.
In the final event on July 16, the Vietnamese competitors were not favourites.
Ngọc was the first runner in the team. She finished her 400m at the fourth position. Hạnh made a strong sprint to narrow the gap and was the third one to give her baton to her teammate.
It was an outstanding run by Huyền who not only sprinted past all other runners but also created a safe distance for Việt Nam's last runner Hằng.
Hằng made use of the advantage and finished first with a time of 3min 32.36sec for the gold medal.
Sri Lanka came second clocking 3:33.27 and India third on 3:33.73.
The result of Việt Nam was better than when they took gold at the 32nd SEA Games of 3:33.05.
"We are very happy. It is a special feeling that is different to describe," said Huyền who won Asian gold for the second time.
"It is great effort of individual members and the whole team. We all played our part in this win."
Nguyễn Thị Huyền runs at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia in May. She played a key role in VIệt Nam's Asian championship win on July 16 in Thailand. Photo toquoc.vn
Huyền and Hằng first won gold when they ran with different teammates in 2017 in India. They came second but were pushed to the top after a member of winning Indian team tested positive for a banned substance.
"My new teammates are great," Huyền said.
"It was their first time at the continental championship but they were determined and ran fast. They create good conditions for Hằng and me to run our best.
"It will be a strong push for us for better results, especially the Asian Games in September."
After Việt Nam's success, athletes received big bonuses from enterprises and sponsors.
After five days, Việt Nam won one gold and one bronze. The bronze was won by Nguyễn Thị Hường in the women's triple jump on July 12.
They placed No 13 among more than 40 participating countries and territories. Japan, China and India were top three teams, respectively. VNS
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