Tears of joy as Vietnam’s sepak takraw team wins ASIAD gold

The Vietnamese trio expressed immense joy and pride after winning another gold medal for their country's sports delegation.

“We were under a lot of pressure after losing to Laos in our opening match. But that loss taught us an important lesson and motivated us to work even harder to beat our next opponents, all the way through to the final”, the players said.

Speaking about the team’s mindset going into the gold-medal match, Thu Trang said the players felt confident because they had nothing left to lose. She also spoke about a back injury she had sustained a few days earlier. ‘Fortunately, it did not affect my performance,’ she said.

Vietnamese athletes Le Thi Hong Lien, Nguyen Thi Khanh Ly and Nguyen Thi Thu Trang (from left)

Joking that their yellow jerseys had brought them luck in previous matches, the players said: ‘We’ve worn the same jerseys as in the previous match. We haven’t changed them."

Explaining her tears after the final, Nguyen Thi Khanh Ly said, “I also cried after yesterday’s semifinal, but today’s emotions are completely different. Yesterday, I was mostly disappointed with myself. Today, I cried tears of happiness. What matters is that I did it. I overcame myself.”

For the final match, Vietnam fielded Nguyen Thi Thu Trang and Nguyen Thi Khanh Ly, with Le Thi Hong Lien named as the substitute.

Thu Trang and Khanh Ly got off to a strong start, quickly taking control thanks to their strong coordination and composed play. The Vietnamese pair steadily widened the gap against the Philippines, claiming the opening set 15-8.

They remained dominant in the second set. Powerful serves and sharp attacking plays quickly gave Vietnam a 5-1 lead. Khanh Ly was particularly impressive, repeatedly adding to Vietnam’s score with a series of effective attacking kicks. The Philippines struggled to respond as Vietnam extended its lead to 8-2, 11-3, 12-4 and finally 14-4.

Players and coaching staff celebrate the victory

Giving their opponents no opportunity to mount a comeback, Thu Trang and Khanh Ly closed out the second set 15-4 to seal a convincing 2-0 victory over the Philippines. The dominant win secured the gold medal for the Vietnamese women’s sepak takraw team at ASIAD 20.