After five days of competition, Vietnam settled for sixth place overall among the 23 participating delegations with three gold medals and one bronze.
My Tam contributed the most significantly to the aforementioned achievements. She teamed up with Nguyen Thi Ngoan and Ho Thi Thu Hien to beat the United Arab Emirates (UAE) opponents 2-1 on December 22 to rack up the women’s team Kumite title.
Hours earlier, My Tam was crowned the 55kg champion (senior division) after defeating the Chinese Taipei fighter 7-2. En route to the final, the 18-year-old martial artist outplayed two heavyweights, Khaksar Taravat (Iran) and Zakharova Sabina (Kazakhstan).
On December 20, My Tam clinched her inaugural gold medal in the tournament following her 55kg (U21 division) victory over Thailand’s Namkhao Penpisut. She became the first female Vietnamese fighter to claim gold in the same weight category of both the senior and U21 divisions at the Asian Karate Championships.
Vietnam’s sole bronze was secured by Ho Thi Thu Hien in the women’s Kumite 68kg event.
The 2021 Asian Karate Championships marked the 17th edition of the Senior Asian Karate Championships and 19th edition of the Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships, with the participation of nearly 500 competitors from 23 countries and territories.
Vietnam sent nine karate athletes to the event, which ran from December 18 to 22.
