The contingent competed against Uzbekistan, Cuba, and Uganda in the finale.
Senior Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang, Chief of the VPA’s General Staff and Deputy Defense Minister, who is leading the Vietnamese high-ranking military delegation to visit Russia, arrived at the firing range to watch, encourage, and congratulate the tank soldiers.
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Senior Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang congratulates the Vietnamese tank contingent. |
General Giang highly valued the efforts of the tank contingent during the Army Games, underlining that despite limited time in preparing for the competition, all members of the Vietnamese tank contingent have tried their best to study, train, and master new weapons and equipment.
The deputy defense minister also pointed out several shortcomings so that the tank troops and the Tank and Armored Corps should draw lessons to better perform their training tasks for future competitions.
According to the final round’s results, Vietnam finished their performance in 2 hours, 25 minutes and 3 seconds, behind Uzbekistan in 2 hours, 1 minute and 56 seconds. Cuba was placed third in 2 hours, 29 minutes and 43 seconds.
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A tank crew of Vietnam at the finale |
Notably, non-commissioned First Lieutenant Phan Anh Tuan, a gunner in the first tank crew of Vietnam, shot down all three targets by 7.62mm PKT machine gun from different distances of 600m, 700m, and 800m.
Meanwhile, the drivers of the three Vietnamese crews reached their tanks’ maximum speed at 73km/h, in comparison with their 70km/h at the semi-finals. Especially, a tank of the third crew, driven by non-commissioned First Lieutenant Nguyen Tien Chien, successfully overcame all obstacles without any violations.
According to the contingent’s coaching board, all Vietnamese tank competitors well handled unexpected problems during their performance.
This is the second time that Vietnam has sent its tank contingent to the Army Games.
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Senior Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang at the VPA’s booth at the Army Games 2019 Friendship House |
* On the same day, General Giang toured the VPA’s booth at the Army Games 2019 Friendship House and visited members of the VPA’s Field Kitchen contingent.
Additionally, the chief of the VPA’s General Staff and his entourage laid flowers at President Ho Chi Minh’s statue in Moscow.
Reported by Nam Thang and My Hanh from Russia
Translated by Van Hieu