Taekwondo team wins most golds at regional championship

Vietnamese national taekwondo team poses for photos before leaving Manila with 27 gold medals from the 16th ASEAN Taekwondo Championship in the Philippines. (Photo courtesy of Nguyen Thanh Huy)

Hanoi - The Vietnamese national taekwondo team came home on May 14 as the top performer at the 16th ASEAN Taekwondo Championship in the Philippines.

After three days of competition, Vietnam grabbed 27 gold medals in both kyorugi (combat) and poomsae (performance) events.

In the senior kyorugi, the team secured 10 golds, four silvers and six bronzes. Among the winners were Olympian Truong Thi Kim Tuyen, two-time SEA Games winner Bac Thi Khiem and SEA Games silver medalist Ly Hong Phuc.

The senior poomsae athletes took home three golds by Nguyen Ho Cam Giang and Ngo Van Thong in the mixed pair freestyle, Nguyen Phan Khanh Han in the inpidual female freestyle and Nguyen Thi Kim Ha in the inpidual female recognised poomsae events.

The other medals were won by junior martial artists.

The Philippines came second with 21 golds while Indonesia was third with five golds.

About 380 athletes, officials and international referees from the eight country-member association participated in the event from March 10-12 at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay Hotel in Manila.