In the women’s under-73kg taekwondo final, Bac Thi Khiem dominated her Philippine opponent Delo, winning 2-0 with scores of 12-6 and 11-1.
Soon afterwards, on the karate mat, Khuat Hai Nam shone in the men’s 67kg Kumite event, defeating Thailand’s Chanchang 6-1. His explosive display added another gold medal and contributed to an emotional and memorable day for the national team.
Karate also earned a silver medal thanks to Chu Van Duc. Despite a determined effort against Malaysia’s Kaliana in the men’s 55kg final, he was beaten 0-4 and finished as the runner-up.
Earlier, shooters Le Thi Mong Tuyen and Nguyen Tam Quang clinched gold in the mixed 10m air rifle team event after a tense final, overcoming strong pressure from hosts Thailand to win 16-14. In the qualifying round, the pair also topped the standings with 624.7 points, 1.3 points ahead of the Thai team.
Nguyen Hong Minh, head of the Vietnamese delegation at the 33rd SEA Games, said this is not a traditional strength of Viet Nam’s shooting team while Singapore and Thailand are usually the strongest contenders. The gold medal won by Tuyen and Quang is therefore particularly valuable.
The victory also marked the first gold for Viet Nam’s shooting squad at this year’s Games, providing a crucial morale boost ahead of the women’s 10m air rifle and 50m rifle events, in which Tuyen will continue to compete.
Also on December 12, Ma Thi Thuy and Nguyen Thi Huong secured Viet Nam's 16th gold medal at the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand after an impressive victory in the women's canoe double 200-metre race.
In the qualifying round, they led with a time of 44.875 seconds. In the final, the duo continued to display outstanding form, completing the race in 43.419 seconds, finishing first ahead of strong competitors from Indonesia and Thailand.
This victory marks Thuy’s first-ever SEA Games gold. She had previously earned recognition by winning the mixed doubles 200m gold at the 2025 Southeast Asian Championships before shining at SEA Games 33.
For Huong, this is her second gold at SEA Games 33 and her 10th gold in her career. The girl demonstrated her excellence after winning five golds at SEA Games 31 and three at SEA Games 32, despite having to switch to traditional rowing in the previous Games when canoeing was not included in the event programme.
