After defeating Thailand and then Singapore, the Vietnamese women's fencing team, consisting of Phung Thi Khanh Linh, Pham Thi Thu Hoai, Bui Thi Thu Ha and Le Minh Hang, entered the final of the women’s team event on Sunday.
The athletes continuously scored to help Vietnam gain the upper hand.
When the score was 39-30, Thu Hoai accidentally stepped on her opponent during an attack and hurt her knee. She had to lie down and seek medical attention.
After the match, Hoai said she was in extreme pain at the time, but told herself to keep trying or her team would lose.
Hoai needed only one more point to switch turns.
When Hoai returned from medical attention, she stayed focused and didn’t give her opponent a chance to score. Her accurate strike helped Vietnam lead 40-30.
Veteran Thu Ha (R) fought the last round. The Philippine athlete was determined and scored seven points, but it was not enough to turn things around.
Thanks to Ha's five points, Vietnam won the final 45-37.
Ha celebrated the victory. This is the first gold medal of the women's fencing team in the team event since the 2015 SEA Games and Vietnam's first victory in fencing at this year's Games, as they performed poorly in the individual events.
In this event, there is an automatic scoring device on each athlete's uniform. When this device shows blue or red, a strike is counted, while a white light means the strike is invalid.
(From L) Bui Thi Thu Ha, Pham Thi Thu Hoai, Phung Thi Khanh Linh and Le Minh Hang.
"Overcoming strong opponents like Thailand in the qualifying round and Singapore in the semifinals gave us confidence," Ha said. "I wish the Vietnam fencing team can win another gold medal in the remaining team events."
As Ha wished, the Vietnam men's fencing team defeated Thailand 45-33 to successfully defend their gold medal. Previously, the team won 45-23 against Indonesia in the qualifying round and 45-31 against Philippines in the semifinals.
Nguyen Phuoc Den concluded the match with an accurate strike on a Thai athlete. Den is one of the two best épée athlete in Vietnam, along with Nguyen Tien Nhat.
(From L) Phuoc Den, Hoang Nhat Nam, Truong Tran Nhat Minh and Nguyen Tien Nhat.
The defeat in the individual event left Nhat more determined to win in the team event. The 33-year-old athlete won gold in four consecutive SEA Games since 2015, before losing to Si To Jian Tong of Singapore in this edition.
