Taekwondo artists take silvers from international competitions
VGP — Taekwondo martial artists have won two silvers from international tournaments which helped them improve world ranking ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Tuyen.jpg: Truong Thi Kim Tuyen (right) and medalists of the women's 49kg category pose with their medals on the podium of the US Open.
Former Asian champion Truong Thi Kim Tuyen took second place at the US Open which closed on February 19 (Ha Noi time) in Nevada.
Competing in the women's 49kg, Tuyen secured three wins to enter the gold-medal match.
The 27-year-old fighter defeated Choi Ashley of the hosts 2-0 in the first match. She won 2-0 over beat Giulia Clara Sendra of Argentina in the quarter-finals and beat Kafadar Josipa of Canada 2-1 in the semi-finals.
However, the No 3 seed could not make it when she lost to No 1 seed Daniela Paola Souza of Mexico in the final.
Earlier, her teammate Bac Thi Khiem bagged silver at the Canada Open.
The Asian Games silver medalist was beaten by No 1 seed Milena Titoneli of Brazil in the women's 67kg category final.
Tuyen, Khiem and other Vietnamese taekwondo fighters are still looking for Việt Nam's first place at the Paris Games this summer.
The points earned from these Opens will lift them up in the world ranking and get closer to their Olympic targets.
Their next event will be the Asian Qualification Tournaments on March 15-17 in China.
To make their dream come true, athletes will have to advance to the finals of their weight categories at the Tai'an City event.
Tuyen was the only Vietnamese taekwondo representative at the previous Olympics in Tokyo in 2021. She lost to world No 1 Panipak Wongpattanakit of Thailand in the quarter-finals./.
