Shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh voted best athlete of 2016

Hundreds of Vietnamese journalists in three cities yesterday voted for markman Hoang Xuan Vinh as the best player of 2016 due to his successful achievements during the year.

Shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh (Photo: VNA)

Vinh was chosen No 1 in a list of 10 most outstanding athletes with 2,020 points by the journalists in polls across Hanoi, Da Nang and HCM City,

The shooter had pocketed a gold, a silver and set a new record at the Rio De Janeiro Olympics, marking a milestone for Vietnam’s sporting history.

It was the first ever Olympic title for the country nearly 70 years after Vietnam began taking part in international competitions.

Earlier, Vinh had also bagged two bronze medals at World Cups in Germany and Thailand.

The second position in the list went to swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien who grabbed 1,639 points.

Vien, who was on top last year, also became the first Vietnamese Asian champion, when she secured a gold medal in the women’s 400m individual medley at the continental tournament in November.

Tennis player Ly Hoang Nam came third with 1,075 points. Nam made big progress in his career jumping to world top 700, the highest ranking for a Vietnamese in history.

In 2016, Nam won one singles and one doubles title from the International Tennis Federation’s Men’s Futures series.

Other outstanding athletes in the list included Olympian fencer Vu Thanh An, gymnast Pham Phuoc Hung, and table tennis player Nguyen Anh Tu.

The nation’s journalists on December 30 also voted for the best coach of the year.

They believed that coach Nguyen Thi Nhung contributed strongly to Vinh’s success.

The so-called ‘iron woman’ of sport topped the list with 1,901 points, leaving her runners-up a long distance behind.

Swimming coach Dang Anh Tuan (1,189 points) and football trainer Hoang Anh Tuan (1,006 points) came second and third, respectively.

In the poll for athletes with disabilities, powerlifter Le Van Cong was voted to the top.

Like Vinh, Cong brought home the first ever gold medal for the Paralympics team from Brazil. His result of 183kg in the men’s U49kg pool is also a new tournament and world record.

Swimmer Vo Thanh Tung took second position thanks to his silver medal at the Rio Games, while Cao Ngoc Hung, who earned a Paralympic bronze in men’s javelin event, was third.

Coach Nguyen Hong Phuc, whose athletes Cong and Dang Thi Linh Phuong (women’s powerlifter U50kg category) had their names in the medal tally, led the poll for the best coach of athletes with disabilities.

Swimming coach Dong Quoc Cuong and athletics coach Dang Van Phuc ranked second and third, respectively.

(Source: VNA)