Vietnamese athletes completed their journey at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games with various lessons for their future competitions. The following are some highlights in the team's performance in the world's largest sporting event.
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| Female badminton player Nguyen Thuy Linh (Photo: vtv.vn) |
The most outstanding athlete
In her first Olympic appearance, female badminton player Nguyen Thuy Linh, the world’s No. 49, defeated No.41 Qi Xuefei from France and No.46 Sabrina Zaquet from Switzerland.
Although she lost to No.1 player Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei, the 23 year-old player had a good match which showed her skills, potential and mettle.
The most promising performance
Nguyen Huy Hoang proved that he is currently the most outstanding Asian swimmer in the men’s 1,500m freestyle, clocking 15:00.24 at the Tokyo Olympics.
Even in the men’s 800m freestyle, he was the sole Asian swimmer to enter the top 20 with a time of 7:54.16.
With this result, the 21-year-old can be Vietnam’s gold medal hope at the coming Asian swimming championships or Asian Games.
The most surprising result
Arriving at Tokyo Olympics at an invitation of the International Olympic Committee, runner Quach Thi Lan advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s 400m hurdles, with a time of 55.71 seconds.
Runner Quach Thi Lan (Photo: VNA)
This is the first time ever that a Vietnamese runner has made it through the qualification of an Olympics' official competition.
With this achievement, Lan affirmed her No.1 position in the continent and was the only Asian representative at the semi-finals. Her own record is 55.30.
The most disappointing performance
Weightlifter Thach Kim Tuan’s performance at the men’s 61kg ended in disappointment.
He would have won a bronze medal if he could maintain a total lift of 295kg like he did at his previous tournaments.
The most regretful
Gold medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympic and Olympic Games record holder of the men’s 10m air pistol Hoang Xuan Vinh could not advance to the final at the Tokyo Olympics.
He only earned 573 points at the qualification, much lower than his results during practice. This Olympic appearance may be his last one./.
