Vietnamese athletes won four gold medals in track-and-field events at the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games on Monday, raising their medal tally closer to the target of 15-17 golds.

The hosts bagged 13 track-and-field gold medals in total as of Monday, including nine in the first two competition days.

Bui Thi Nguyen snatched a gold in the women’s 100-meter hurdles in a time of 13.51 seconds to everyone’s surprise as all eyes were on her teammate Huynh Thi My Tien’s performance.

Le Tien Long claimed a gold medal in men’s 3,000-meter hurdles after nine minutes and 2.84 seconds, Vu Thi Ngoc Ha gained one in the women’s long jump category with a 6.39-meter leap, and Khuat Phuong Anh earned another in women’s 800-meter run in two minutes and 8.74 seconds.

Bui Thi Thu Thao also pocketed a silver in the women’s long jump event.

In men’s 800-meter run, Tran Van Dang secured a bronze medal.

The Vietnamese track-and-field athletes are scheduled to compete in eight final events on Tuesday.

The 31st SEA Games, which boast 526 categories in 40 sports, take place in Hanoi and 11 neighboring provinces and cities from May 12 to 23.

The biennial event was originally scheduled to be held from November 21 to December 2, 2021 but was postponed after Vietnam saw a flare-up of COVID-19 cases in late April the same year.

Over 7,878 athletes, coaches, and members of 11 sports delegations in Southeast Asia have registered for the event.

Vietnam’s delegation participating in this year’s SEA Games consists of 951 athletes competing in 508 categories, 250 coaches, 30 experts, and 46 team managers.

Vietnam sets a target of winning at least 140 gold medals and placing first in the medal table.

Vietnam ranked second behind host the Philippines, winning 98 gold, 85 silver, and 105 bronze medals at the 30th SEA Games in 2019.

This is the second time that Vietnam has hosted the SEA Games after the first time in 2003.  

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