Taekwondo athletes secure medals at World Grand Prix in Italy
Vietnamese athletes won three medals, including one gold, one silver and one bronze, at the Roma 2019 World Taekwondo Grand Prix, which closed in Italy on June 9.
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The gold medal went to the poomsae (performance) team comprising of Chau Tuyet Van, Nguyen Thi Le Kim, Nguyen Thien Phung, Le Thanh Trung and Hua Van Huy in the freestyle mixed team over-17.
Nguyen Dinh Khoi then took the silver medal in the men’s individual free style over-17. He was second behind Lin Yu-han of Chinese Taipei, while Jeordan Dominguez of the Philippines was third.
Truong Thi Kim Tuyen secured the bronze in the kyorugi (combat) event. She shared third place in the women’s U49kg category with Japan's Miyu Yamada after they both lost in the semi-finals.
The category winner was Elizaveta Ryadninskaya of Russia while Sim Jae-young from the Republic of Korea claimed the silver.
Vietnam was the only nation in Southeast Asia to win medals at the Roma 2019 World Taekwondo Grand Prix, affirming its leading position in the region.
After the tournament, the athletes will embark on preparations for the next events, such as the World Taekwondo Championship in China and the World Taekwondo Beach Championship.
The most important target of the Vietnamese taekwondo team is the 30th Southeast Asian Games to be held in the Philippines in November where they are expected to pocket 2-3 gold medals, said head coach Nguyen Thanh Huy.
