Vietnamese gold medalist shooter wins second medal at Rio Olympics
Thursday, August 11, 2016, 11:18 GMT+7
Hoang Xuan Vinh, the Vietnamese shooter who became a national phenomenon after winning Vietnam’s first-ever Olympic gold medal last week, has earned himself another, this time silver, at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The athlete once again brought glory to national sports fans after finishing second in the men’s 50m pistol on Wednesday night, as part this year’s Games being held from August 5 to 21 in Brazil.
The 42-year-old military colonel quenched his country’s thirst for its first gold medal in 64 years of Olympic competition by acing the men’s 10m air pistol category during Sunday’s opening of the shooting competition.
Vinh was cheered on by over 20 of his compatriots, including 16 Vietnamese officials in Brazil for a business trip, several reporters, his coach, and fellow athletes.
The competition began with a rocky start for Vinh, whose poor accuracy in his first four shots forced him out of the top 20.
Despite disappointment, the Vietnamese fans understood that high expectations had put Vinh under considerable pressure.
However, Vinh quickly got back on his feet after scoring up a 94 and 96 in his last two attempts, shooting himself to the sixth place and earning a ticket to the final round.
The Vietnamese shooter topped the leader board in the finals among many strong contenders, including two Chinese competitors, Pang Wei and Wang Zhiwei, and maintained a 0.2 point gap from South Korea’s Jin Jong-oh, ranked second at the time.
Tension seemed to have got under Vinh’s skin during his final shots, resulting in a loss to his South Korean opponent by 2.4 points.
Vietnamese fans, however, were still proud of and grateful for Vinh’s achievements at the Games, paying little attention to his defeat in the final round.
“I am a little regretful for not being able to control my performance at the final shots. I would like to extend my joy to the Vietnamese people and my family,” Vinh said after receiving his silver medal.
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