Vietnamese martial artist clinches triple gold at Asian karate tournament

By Lam Thoa December 22, 2021 | 08:47 pm PT

Hoang Thi My Tam poses with her gold medal in the Asian Karate Championships 2021. Photo courtesy of Hoang Thi My Tam

Hoang Thi My Tam has won three gold medals at the 2021 Asian Karate Championships held in Kazakhstan: women’s U23 individual kumite, 55 kg and team kumite.

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.