Vietnam wins gold at Asian karate championships
Vietnam secured a gold medal at the 21st Asian Cadet, Junior & U21 Karate Championship 2023 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The Vietnamese representatives, Hoang Thi Thu Uyen, Bui Ngoc Nhi, Nguyen Phuong Thao and Nguyen Mai Quynh Anh, championed in the female kata (performance) cadet and junior team event on November 7.
They earned 40.9 points to defeat rivals from Iran who had 38.7 points in the final. Chinese Taipei and Thailand were shared-third-place teams.
Their teammate Nguyen Thi Dieu Ly claimed silver in the female junior kumite (combat) U59kg class.
Ly lost to Sakiyama Tsumugi of Japan in the final.
Imani Boshra of Iran and Pao Yu-hsun of Chinese Taipei shared the third podium.
Vietnamese athletes also took three bronze medals in other disciplines.
Nguyen Mai Quynh Anh was third in the female cadet individual kata. She was behind Ito Wakana of Japan and Alyafae Shikha of the UAE.
Bui Ngoc Nhi came third in the female junior kata individual, placing below Japanese Takata Azusa and Iranian Baharijavadhesaru.
Nguyen Thao Hien bagged a bronze in the female cadet kumite U61kg. She lost to Musakhonova Saidabonu of Uzbekistan in the semi-finals.
Saidabonu went on to beat Koishybay Gulnur of the hosts to take gold.
The championship, which ended on November 8, featured more than 440 competitors from 26 countries and territories. Vietnam sent 14 athletes to the tournament and placed eighth in the medal tally.
