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Vietnamese male fencers expected to win SEA Games gold

Xinhua, June 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

Vietnam's male fencing team is expected to win their first gold medal for the national sports delegation at the 28th Southeast Asian Games in Singapore, local newspaper Vietnam News reported Tuesday.

The fencing competition will begin on June 3 and consist of three events: men's individual epee, men's individual sabre, and women's individual foil. Vietnam's biggest hope is pinned on two men namedly Nguyen Tien Nhat and Nguyen Phuoc Den.

Nhat, who has won some fencing gold medals at regional tournaments, is primed to win the first gold medal for the men's team at the games. Four years ago in Indonesia, he brought home a bronze.

Besides Nhat and Den, Nguyen Thi Le Dung and Tran Thi Len, both gold medalists in Indonesia, and young hopefuls Do Thi Anh, Nguyen Minh Quang and Bui Thi Thu Ha will look to bring home medals for Vietnam. The squad of 24 fencers will compete in all 12 individual and team events and aims to win five golds.

According to Phung Le Quang, head of the Fencing Division under the Vietnamese General Department of Sports and Physical Training, the team is hoping for four or five gold medals to place among the top countries in fencing at the games. Quang said the goal is realistic but expects Vietnamese players to face stern competition from Thailand, Indonesia and hosts Singapore.

At the 26th SEA Games 2011 in Indonesia, Vietnam ranked first in the fencing competition with five golds, four silvers and three bronzes. All the five golds came from female fencers.

At the 28th SEA Games, Vietnam targets 60-70 golds at 18 sport events, with the biggest hope pinned on athletics and swimming. The country bagged home 74 gold, 85 silver and 86 bronze medals, finishing third at the previous tournament. Endi