VN martial artists win big at regional karate championships
VOV.VN - Local karate fighters came first in the overall medal tally at the ninth Southeast Asian Karate Championship that concluded in Cambodia on March 27.
Vietnam recorded a haul of five gold, five silver, and three bronze medals, followed by Indonesia bagging five golds, three silvers, and six bronzes, and Malaysia clinching five golds, three silvers, and four bronzes.
It’s noteworthy that four gold medals in kumite (combat) went to Asian champion 2021 Hoang Thi My Tam in the women’s U55kg category, world gold medalist 2017 Nguyen Thi Ngoan in the women’s U61kg category, SEA Games champion 2017 Ho Thi Thu Hien in the women’s U68kg category, and Tran Le Tan Dat in the men’s over 84kg category, they were all Vietnamese martial artists.
Trio Nguyen Thi Phuong, Nguyen Ngoc Tram, and Luu Thi Thu Uyen all won gold medals in kata (performance) for the female team.
The ninth Southeast Asian Karate Championship began on March 21 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, drawing the participation of 200 karate martial artists from nine regional countries.
The tournament served as preparation for the Vietnamese national team ahead of the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) to be hosted by Vietnam in May.
Karate competitions will take place across 15 categories of both kumite and kata at the Ninh Binh province Gymnasium from May 16 to May 20.