Vietnamese athletes pose with their men's team table tennis gold medal at the ASEAN School Games in the Philippines. - Photo giaoducthoidai.vn

HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam won three gold medals on the second day of the Sixth ASEAN Schools Games (ASG) in Marikina City, Metro Manila in the Philippines.

The quartet of Le Van Duc, Nguyen Trung Kien, Vu Manh Duy and Le Dinh Duc yesterday defeated their Malaysian rivals to take a gold medal in the men's team category of the table tennis event.

"We did not think of a title before leaving for the tournament because it is the first time my players are taking part in these Games," said coach Vu Manh Cuong.

"However, they successfully overcame heavy pressure to beat strong rivals Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia to grab the gold. It is a worthy award for them after making strong efforts in this biggest sporting event for students," Cuong added.

The title in table tennis was the third one for the day. Earlier, the Viet Nam national anthem was sung twice in athletics events.

The first gold medal went to Le Quang Hoa in the men's 1,500m while the second went to Dinh Thi Bich in the women's 1,500m.

Lo Thi Thanh, Bich's teammate, placed second in this event and took the silver medal.

In the first day of competition on Monday, runner Ha Thi Thu stole the limelight with a victory in the women's 100m and the country's first gold medal in this year's Games.

Le Manh Hung, Viet Nam's chief of mission, predicted Thu's victory to encourage other teammates in the coming days. Later, Le Viet An won the silver medal in the men's 800m.

Today, Vietnamese athletes will compete in the qualifying rounds of athletics as well as table tennis, wushu, swimming and badminton.

After two days, Viet Nam ranked third in the medal tally with four gold and two silver medals. Malaysia placed first with six gold medals, followed by Thailand with five.

The ASG is an annual sports competition among student-athletes of participating countries.

Philippine Education Secretary Armin Luistro, honorary chairman of the ASG governing board, explained that the competition aimed to give the youth a chance to gauge their athletic prowess and promote solidarity and cultural exchange among participants.

This year, a total of 1,500 students from seven countries are taking part in the Games and competing in 11 sports.

This is the first time the Philippines has hosted the event, which will run from November 29 to December 7. — VNS