The queen of Southeast Asian sprinting finished third for a bronze medal in a time of 11.43sec.

Vietnam’s fastest woman improved as the competition went on, having run 11.56 in qualifier on Nov. 21 and 11.46 in semi-final on Nov. 22. But it was not enough for her to top the podium as Japan’s Chisato Fukushima, the Asian champion, stole the limelight with a time of 11.33.

The 22-year-old beat defending champion Guzel Khubbieva of Uzbekistan by just one hundredth of a second in a photo finish.

Huong’s bronze could not make Vietnam’s managers smile but they took comfort in the fact that it was the country’s first track and field medal ever at the Asian Games.