At the end of the second competition day, Viet Nam had collected a total of 40 medals, including 14 gold, 7 silver, and 19 bronze, maintaining second place overall behind host nation Thailand.
The highlights of the day came from Viet Nam’s key sports. In Karate, the women’s kata team of Nguyen Thi Phuong, Nguyen Ngoc Tram, Bui Ngoc Nhi and Hoang Thi Thu Uyen opened the “gold rush” by defeating Thailand in the final. This was followed by another gold medal from fighter Nguyen Hong Trong, who dominated his Indonesian opponent in the men’s 54kg Taekwondo final.
On the Jujitsu mat, Dang Dinh Tung left a strong impression with a convincing 5–0 victory over his Philippine rival in the men’s 69kg Ne-waza final, avenging his defeat at the previous SEA Games. Judo also added to the gold tally, thanks to an impressive performance by Tran Quoc Cuong and Phan Minh Hanh in the Nage-no-kata event.
Artistic gymnastics continued to serve as a solid pillar for the delegation, with Dang Ngoc Xuan Thien claiming gold in the pommel horse event and Nguyen Van Khanh Phong topping the rings event. Viet Nam narrowly missed out on a third gold in gymnastics after an unexpected appeal in the women’s vault final resulted in Nguyen Thi Quynh Nhu being relegated from first place to silver.
Later in the day, athletics ignited Viet Nam’s medal table. Ho Trong Manh Hung secured the gold medal in the men’s triple jump, marking the first athletics gold for Viet Nam at this year’s Games.
Soon after, the women’s 1,500m race underlined Viet Nam’s dominance, with Bui Thi Ngan taking gold and Nguyen Khanh Linh finishing second for silver. In the men’s 1,500m, Luong Duc Phuoc crossed the line among the leading group to add a bronze medal.
In the pool, Pham Thanh Bao once again confirmed his regional supremacy by successfully defending his title in the men’s 100m breaststroke. To close the day, the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay delivered a dramatic comeback, as the quartet of Nguyen Viet Tuong, Nguyen Huy Hoang, Tran Van Nguyen Quoc, and Tran Hung Nguyen overtook Singapore and Malaysia to claim gold.
At Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, both the men’s and women’s football teams met their objectives. Viet Nam’s U22 side defeated Malaysia U22 2–0 to finish at the top of Group B and advance to the semi-finals.
In the women’s competition, coach Mai Duc Chung’s team also beat Myanmar 2–0, joining their male counterparts in the last four.
The string of victories across multiple sports, particularly Olympic disciplines, has reinforced Viet Nam’s second-place position in the overall standings. With many strong events still to come, including athletics, swimming, shooting, and martial arts, the Viet Nam Sports Delegation has solid grounds to expect further progress in the days ahead.
