Weightlifter Thach Kim Tuan grabbed the first gold medal for Vietnam in the men’s 56kg weight category on the opening day of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games on August 15.

Meanwhile, Tuan’s team mate Nguyen Thi Hong, who has won a gold medal at a world junior weightlifting tournament, finished fourth at women’s 48kg with a total lift of 151kg.

In this category, Tian Yuan from China won the gold medal with 190kg, and Pramongkhol Sirivimon from Thailand took the silver medal with 163kg. 

With a total of 256kg in clean and jerk, Tuan outplayed his Chinese rival Xie Jiawu who secured the silver medal with 254 kg in total. Armenian athlete MarGaryan carried off the bronze medal with only 243kg.

Tuan is a Vietnamese hopeful at regional and global tournaments. The 16-year-old athlete won a gold and two silver medals at the 2009 Junior Asia Championships and three silver medals at the 2009 Junior World Championships. He has just broken the national record at the Vietnam Youth Tournament this year. 

Also on August 15, Vietnamese badminton player Vu Thi Trang beat Choe Hye In from the Republic of Korea 2-1, while Nguyen Huynh Thong was lost 2-0 to a Turkish rival.

Source: VOV