In the men’s 800m freestyle final, Huy Hoang had to face many strong opponents such as Rawat Kushagra (India), Khiew Hoe Yean (Malaysia), Xu Haibo (China), Sibirtsev Ilya (Uzbekistan) and Tanaka Shun (Japan).
Halfway through the 400m, Huy Hoang had left Xu Haibo behind by more than 1.6 seconds. His extensive racing experience helped him control his swimming pace, while his opponents gradually lost their breath in the final stages. Entering the last 100m, Huy Hoang had almost no competitors, finishing first with a gap of up to 3.34 seconds compared to the second-place finisher Sibirtsev Ilya.
Huy Hoang won the gold medal with a time of 7 minutes 57 seconds 58. Sibirtev of Uzbekistan finished second in 8 minutes 00 seconds 37, while China’s Haibo Xu took third place in 8 minute 02 seconds 34.
With his latest victory on October 1, Hoang became the first male swimmer of the Vietnamese national team to win two gold medals at the Asian Swimming Championships.
In another category, Nguyen Kha Nhi won silver in the women’s 400m freestyle with a time of 4 minutes 25 seconds 50; Tran Hung Nguyen, Pham Thanh Bao, Vo Thi My Tien, and Nguyen Thuy Hien won a bronze medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay with a time of 3 minutes 55 seconds 97.
HY