>>> Ngung qualifies for Rio Olympics
>>> Wrestler secures ninth Rio Olympic place for Vietnam
In the women’s singles epee final on April 11, Nhu Hoa brilliantly overcame Ulyana Balaganskaya of Kazakhstan with an overwhelming score of 15-5 to claim a ticket to Rio de Janeiro this August, which is open to the top three performers in each event.
Earlier, Nhu Hoa endured hard-fought matches to advance, beating Lim Cheryl of Singapore 14-12 in the quarterfinals before addressing the Chinese Taipei challenger Chang Chialing 8-7 in the semifinals.
Not long later, SEA Games champion Vu Thanh An succeeded his female teammate’s victory to win the second Olympic slot for Vietnamese fencing.
An recorded two consecutive 15-4 triumphs against opponents from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in the men’s sabre quarterfinal and semifinal matches respectively to surge into the final round, which was enough to secure him an early Olympic berth.
More Olympic slots for the Asia and Oceania zone will be decided on April 12, with Vietnam’s hopes pinned on Nguyen Tien Nhat, Vietnam’s flag bearer at the 2012 Olympics in London, and “sabre queen” Nguyen Le Dung.
A total of 11 Vietnamese athletes have booked slots in Rio this summer, including swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien; wrestlers Vu Thi Hang and Nguyen Thi Lua; race walker Nguyen Thanh Ngung; shooters Hoang Xuan Vinh and Tran Quoc Cuong; fencers Vu Thanh An and Nguyen Thi Nhu Hoa; and three weightlifters.
