Vietnamese martial artist clinches triple gold at Asian karate tournament

In the team kumite event, Tam teamed up with Nguyen Thi Ngoan and Ho Thi Thu Hien to defeat UAE 2-1 to snatch gold on Wednesday.

A few hours earlier, she won the 55 kg event and on Monday, beat Thailand’s Namkhao Pensiput in the final of the U21 event.

Hien also won a bronze medal in the 68 kg event.

Vietnam concluded the tournament in the sixth position among 23 participating countries with a total haul of three gold and one bronze medals. It was an impressive showing, considering the team hadn't competed internationally for the last two years due to Covid-19 impacts.

Vietnam's nine-member contingent had to take three flights to participate in the tournament: Hanoi – Bangkok; Bangkok – Dubai; and Dubai - Kazakhstan.

The 2021 Asian Karate Championships is part of the 17th edition of the Senior Asian Karate Championship and 19th edition of the Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships, attracting the participation of nearly 500 competitors from 23 countries and territories.