Karate

Hoàng Thị Mỹ Tâm of Việt Nam (left) competes in the final of the Southeast Asian Karate Championship’s women’s 55kg category. Tâm won two golds. Photo of Karate Journal

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam topped the Southeast Asian Karate Championships, which closed in the Philippines on March 19.

Vietnamese athletes secured 23 gold medals from tournaments for both seniors and juniors during seven days of competition in Manila.

Among the winners were Asian champion Hoàng Thị Mỹ Tâm and the men’s and women’s kumite (combat) teams.

Tâm secured a double title after beating Chokprasertgul Sirigamolnate of Thailand in the in the women’s U21 55kg class and Montalvo Jenelle of the Philippines in the senior pool.

Men’s kata team of Việt Nam perform at the Southeast Asian Karate Championships which closes in Manila on March 19. Photo of Karate Journal

Meanwhile, the women’s kumite took both gold and silver in a all-Việt Nam final. The men’s squad beat Malaysia in the final for the last gold of the championship.

Việt Nam also grabbed 20 silvers and 22 bronzes.

Thailand finished second with eight golds, 10 silvers and 18 bronzes. Indonesia was third with eight golds, five silvers and 11 bronzes.

The regional tournament lured more than 280 athletes from 10 countries, competing in both kata (performance) and kumite disciplines. Việt Nam sent 73 martial arts to the Manila event, which was considered their last warm-up for the 32th SEA Games in May in Cambodia.

At the previous Games, Việt Nam topped the podium with seven titles. VNS

Football

Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh beat reigning champion PFV to advance to the National U17 Football Championship on March 19. Photo of baohatinh.vn

HƯNG YÊN — Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh made the biggest bang of the National U17 Football Championship, eliminating defending champion PVF on March 19 after a penalty shootout in the semi-finals.

Hà Tĩnh set up their dream final with Viettel, which will be on March 21 in Hưng Yên Province.

The dark horse continued its amazing journey with a 1-1 draw after 90 official minutes, forcing the two sides to the decisive spot kicks.

While only one shot from Hà Tĩnh was denied, PVF’s players made two off-target kicks, leading to a 4-3 victory for Hà Tĩnh, who were pushed into the tournament after Bình Dương withdrew.

It was Hà Tĩnh’s second win from penalties. Earlier, they won with the same score against Huế in the quarter-finals.

In the first semis, Viettel beat Sông Lam Nghệ An with an only goal by Đặng Thanh Bình in the 34th minute. 

Nghệ An had a chance to level the score at the 85th mark but Trọng Sơn could not pass goalkeeper Anh Chiến of Viettel.

Nghệ An’s consecutive attempts in the last minutes were not converted into a goal. They then accepted the third-place finish at the tournament, which is known as Thái Sơn Nam Cup.

The final on March 21 will be aired live on ON Sport channel and VFF’s YouTube channel from 3pm. VNS