On the morning of 25/9, Nguyen Thi Huong and Diep Thi Huong crossed the finish line in third place in the women's kayak doubles 500m canoeing final at Miyoshi Lake, clocking 1 minute 57,255 seconds. This achievement marked the Vietnam Sports Delegation's first-ever bronze medal in canoeing at the Asian Games.

Nguyen Thi Huong (far right) and Diep Thi Huong (second from right) receive their canoeing bronze medals at Miyoshi Lake, Aichi province, Japan, on the morning of 25/9. Photo: Quy Luong

The Vietnamese duo finished behind Sun Mengya and Ma Yanan of China, who secured the gold medal with a time of 1 minute 54,700 seconds. Uzbekistan claimed the silver medal, finishing in 1 minute 56,419 seconds.

Vietnam's time was 2,555 seconds slower than the gold medalists. However, the two Vietnamese paddlers were only 0,836 seconds behind the Uzbekistan team.

Canoeing is a paddle sport where athletes compete on flatwater courses over various distances. At ASIAD, canoeing includes kayak and canoe events, contested individually, in pairs, or as a team. In kayak events, athletes use a double-bladed paddle and sit inside the boat.

While both canoeing and rowing are paddle sports, they differ in paddling technique. In canoeing, athletes use a one- or two-bladed paddle and face forward. In rowing, athletes use a single-bladed oar and face backward relative to their direction of travel.

Vietnam first participated in ASIAD canoeing in 2006 with 9 athletes in Doha, Qatar. Since then, the team also competed in 2010, 2018, and 2023, but had not won any medals at this event until now.

Nguyen Thi Huong, 25, and Diep Thi Huong, 23, previously won a gold medal at SEA Games 33. At ASIAD 2026, the two athletes once again competed together in the women's kayak doubles 500m event, successfully qualifying for the medal final.

Vietnamese canoeing competed in three events on the morning of 25/9. Besides Nguyen Thi Huong and Diep Thi Huong's performance, Huynh Cao Minh and Do Minh Thuan finished last in the men's kayak doubles 500m final.

In the women's kayak fours event, Hoang Thi Huong, Bui Mai Hanh, Hoang Thi Lam, and Do Thi Thanh Thao also did not win a medal, finishing sixth overall.

The medal won by Nguyen Thi Huong and Diep Thi Huong was the only one for canoeing and the Vietnam Sports Delegation on the morning of 25/9. As of 11:40 this morning, Hanoi time, the Delegation had secured one gold, one silver, and 16 bronze medals, ranking 20th in the overall standings.

In this morning's swimming heats, four Vietnamese athletes qualified for the finals: Nguyen Huy Hoang ranked third in the men's 400m freestyle heats with 3 minutes 50,65 seconds. Tran Van Nguyen Quoc ranked sixth with 3 minutes 51,88 seconds. Duong Van Hoang Quy ranked ninth in the men's 200m butterfly with 2 minutes 01,83 seconds. Pham Thanh Bao ranked eighth in the men's 50m breaststroke with 27,72 seconds. Nguyen Quang Thuan and Nguyen Thuy Hien did not advance to the finals.

The afternoon and evening of 25/9 will feature a busy schedule for Vietnam. From 13:00, Trinh Hai Khang will compete in the men's vault final in gymnastics, while the women's football team will face Trung Quoc in the quarterfinals. Swimming finals are scheduled from 15:00, with athletics events beginning at 18:11. The U23 Vietnam men's football team will play Korea in the quarterfinals at 17:30.

Xuan Binh