Wushu athlete Duong Thuy Vi wins gold at World Games

Vietnamese wushu athlete Duong Thuy Vi (Photo: VNA)

Vietnamese wushu athlete Duong Thuy Vi took a gold medal at the 2022 World Games early on July 13 in Birmingham in the US state of Alabama.

The former world champion had no difficulty dominating the women's jianshu and qiangshu held at the Birmingham Southern College Gymnasium.

Vi secured 9.513 points in the first category and 9.527 points in the second. Her combined 19.040 points took her to the top of the podium.

She left Canadian Cai Winnie (18.340 points) and Seo Hee-ju of the Republic of Korea (18.320 points) trailing in her wake.

It is the first World Games title for the Vietnamese athlete who has won nearly all the world's most prestigious events.

It is also the third international title for the 29-year-old in two months after she bagged two golds at the 31st SEA Games in May in Hanoi.

Vi also took part in the World Games in 2013 and bagged a silver.

Her title on July 13 was the second of Vietnam's wushu team at the World Games. Earlier, Nguyen Thanh Tung championed the men's taijiquan and taijiquan final in 2013.

Another Vietnamese, Pham Quoc Khanh also competed on July 13 in the men's nanquan and nangun final. He scored 18.947 to place fourth. 

Liu Zhong-xin of China won the event with 19.134 points. Harris Horatius from Indonesia came second with 19.030 points, and Lai Po-wei from Chinese Taipei finished third on 19.016.

Vietnam still has Hoang Thi Phuong Giang to compete in the women's daoshu and gunshu.

Giang is a SEA Games multiple medal winner. In May's SEA Games, she topped the women's changquan event and was third in the gunshu.

In Birmingham, Giang will face strong rivals such as Mia Tian of the hosts, Alina Krysko of Ukraine, Alexa Cruz of Mexico, Camila Cid Urtubia from Chile and Michelle Yeung of Hong Kong (China).

In other sports, Vietnamese Tran Quyet Chien is seeded No 3 in the men's 3-cushion carom event. He will meet Teran Javier of Ecuador on July 15.

Also, on Juky 15, eight-time world champion Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat will compete in the men's 57kg category in Muay Thai.

The women's beach handball team have been disqualified from the tournament as they failed to reach the competition venue in time because of visa issues.

The World Games is an international multi-sport event comprising sporting disciplines not contested in the Olympics. It is usually held every four years, one year after the Summer Olympics, over 11 days.

It is governed by the International World Games Association, under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee. The first Games was organised in 1981 in the US.

Vietnam has taken part in different editions of the World Games, and Vietnamese athletes pocketed a sepak takraw gold in the 2009 Games in Chinese Taipei; gold in wushu and aerobics in 2013 in Colombia; and a muay gold in 2017 in Poland./.

VNA