Vietnam men's fencing team wins bronze medal at Asian tournament

The Vietnamese team won the bronze medal in the men’s team sabre event at the 2016 Asian Fencing Championships that wrapped up Wuxi, China on April 18.

Vietnam men’s fencing team and coaching staff at the 2016 Asian Fencing Championships (Credit: hanoimoi)

Seeded seventh in this event, Vietnam overwhelmed Chinese Taipei 45-43 in the first round and then excellently defeated No.2 seed Iran 45-34 in the quarterfinals.

However, Vietnamese fencers could not create any surprises in the semifinals, losing to China 37-45 to take the bronze medal.

Earlier on April 15, SEA Games champion Vu Thanh An secured a bronze medal in the men’s single sabre at the tournament.

Meanwhile, other fencers, including Nguyen Thi Nhu Hoa and Nguyen Thi Le Dung who have already earned official tickets to 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this August, were stopped early. Le Dung ranked 5/46 in the women’s sabre category, while Nhu Hoa stood 27/52 in the women’s foil event.

Overall, Vietnam finished sixth on the medal table of the tournament, and the Republic of Korea defeated their throne in Asia with seven gold, four silver and six bronze medals.

The Asian Fencing Championships was organised by the Asian Fencing Confederation for Asia-Oceania from April 13-18. The participants competed for medals in epee, foil and sabre events.

(Source: NDO)