At noon on October 2, at Nishio Gymnasium (Aichi Prefecture, Japan), Nguyen Thi Tam entered the women's 51kg boxing final, facing Chinese boxer Wu Yu.
In the first round, Nguyen Thi Tam fought proactively, seeking to close the distance and utilize her height and reach advantage to land strikes. However, Wu Yu controlled the distance effectively and neutralized the Vietnamese boxer's attacks. One judge scored the round 10-9 in favor of Nguyen Thi Tam, while the remaining four judges awarded the advantage to the Chinese boxer.
In the second round, Wu Yu continued to control the tempo and was awarded a 10-9 victory by all five judges. Entering the final round, Nguyen Thi Tam pushed the pace in search of an opportunity to narrow the gap, but was unable to turn the tide.
Ultimately, all five judges awarded the victory to Wu Yu with scores of 29-28, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, and 30-27. Nguyen Thi Tam suffered a 0-5 defeat, claiming the silver medal in the women's 51kg category at ASIAD 20.
Prior to reaching the final, Nguyen Thi Tam sequentially defeated Ramisha Shrestha (Nepal) 5-0, Guo Yi-xuan (Chinese Taipei) 4-1, and Bak Chorong (South Korea) 5-0. In the semi-finals, the Vietnamese boxer continued to impress with a 5-0 victory over Alua Balkibekova (Kazakhstan), the reigning world champion in the 51kg division.
The silver medal at ASIAD 20 marks a memorable milestone for Nguyen Thi Tam as she became the first Vietnamese boxer to reach an ASIAD final. Previously, her best achievement at this arena was a bronze medal at ASIAD 18 in 2018.
Nguyen Khang