Tran Le Quoc Toan (centre) wins regional gold.

HA NOI  (VNS) — Vietnamese athletes have so far managed a successful run at the ongoing Southeast Asian Weightlifting Championship in Thailand.

Tran Le Quoc Toan beat his world champion teammate Thach Quoc Tuan to take a gold medal in the men's 56kg category yesterday.

Toan who often lost to Tuan in both local and international tournaments in the recent two years, surprised everyone yesterday, with a total lift of 273kg (119 for snatch and 154 for jerk-and-clean), 1kg heavier than his familiar rival who bagged a silver medal.

It is Toan's first title since his return after months of fighting injuries.

Nguyen Ngoc Trung won the second gold for Viet Nam in the men's 62kg class.

Trung was successful with a total lift of 281kg, much better than Kangkeeree of Thailand (273kg) and Aznil Bidin of Malaysia (266kg).

On the women's side, Nguyen Thi Thuy earned a silver medal in the 53kg category, with a result of 201kg.

Competitions will continue until Sunday. — VNS