Viet Nam muscles in on gold haul

(05-12-2005)

HA NOI — Bodybuilder Pham Van Mach won the gold medal in the men’s bodybuilding 55kg class at the SEA Games, adding to Viet Nam’s gold harvest yesterday.

Mach, who won the world title last year, displayed his formidable muscles to outclass all his competitors.

It’s the first ever gold Viet Nam has won in the event.

Vietnamese athletes have bagged a total of 67 gold medals so far at the SEA Games.

Earlier yesterday, Vietnamese athletes won a clutch of gold medals in the judo, arnis, pencak silat, chess and billiards-snooker competitions - a reversal of fortunes after a goldless day for Viet Nam on Friday.

The Vietnamese chess team dominated their event at the SEA Games as they bagged three gold medals.

Having pocketed two golds on the first day of competition, chess player Nguyen Anh Dung beat host opponent Dimakiling Oliver in a tie breaker game to win blitz chess gold.

In the men’s carom 1, new face Nguyen Thanh Binh beat his team-mate Le Phuoc Loi in an all-Vietnamese final, scoring 200 against Loi’s 188 after five hours of play.

Judo artist Nguyen Thi Nhu Y, who competed in the women’s 63kg category, delivered a fast leg blow to beat Thailand’s Samthong after only two minutes of competition to win gold. Nhu Y dedicated the gold medal to her mother, who passed away in her homeland Dong Thap Province last week.

Pencak silat artists also dominated their event, bagging seven golds yesterday.

Tran Van Toan crushed host Christopher Yabut 5-0 in the men’s 55kg division final, while his team-mate Nguyen Thi Phuong Thuy beat Binti Latif of Singapore in the women’s 55kg class.

In the afternoon, Le Thi Hang and Huynh Thi Thu Hong added a gold each to Viet Nam’s medal tally by winning the women’s 50kg and under-55kg respectively.

A few hours later Nguyen Ba Trinh dominated the men’s 60kg class competition with a 5-0 win over Thai Nakin.

In the women’s 60kg, Trinh Thi Nga secured her SEA Games gold hat trick as she won against Indonesian Rosmiari 4-1 in the final.

World champion Nguyen Van Hung closed the event with a gold medal win in the men’s heavyweight 90kg.

There was yet more gold during the arnis event, a Filipino martial art that emphasises stick fighting. Arnis artist Nguyen Thanh Quyen clinched Viet Nam’s third gold medal in the event during the men’s 71kg competition. Last weekend arnis artist Nguyen Quang Tung also won gold, while Nguyen Thi My scored a gold medal in the women’s class. — VNS