Vietnam at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Vietnam competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. It is the 13th summer games in which the nation has competed since its first appearance in 1952. Although it has sent a modest delegation every year it has competed, Vietnam had only earned one Olympic medal before Beijing (in 2000).[2] The Vietnam Olympic Committee sent thirteen athletes to compete in eight of the 28 Olympic sports.[3] It is the largest ever contingent for the nation, up from 11 in the 2004 games.[4]

Vietnam at the
2008 Summer Olympics
IOC codeVIE
NOCVietnam Olympic Committee
Websitewww.voc.org.vn (in Vietnamese and English)
in Beijing
Competitors13 in 8 sports
Flag bearer Nguyễn Đình Cương[1] (opening)
Nguyễn Văn Hùng (closing)
Medals
Ranked 70th
Gold
0
Silver
1
Bronze
0
Total
1
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)

Medalists
Medal Name Sport Event Date
 SilverHoàng Anh TuấnWeightliftingMen's 56 kgAugust 10

Athletics
Main article: Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Two athletes represented Vietnam in Beijing.

Key
  • Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
  • Q = Qualified for the next round
  • q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
  • NR = National record
  • N/A = Round not applicable for the event
  • Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round
Men
Athlete Event Heat Semifinal Final
Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank
Nguyễn Đình Cương 800 m 1:52.06 7 Did not advance
Women
Athlete Event Heat Quarterfinal Semifinal Final
Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank
Vũ Thị Hương 100 m 11.65 3 Q 11.70 8 Did not advance

Badminton
Main article: Badminton at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Vietnam sent two athletes to compete in two of the five badminton events. Nguyễn Tiến Minh entered ranked 24th in the world, while Lê Ngọc Nguyên Nhung was ranked 72nd.

Athlete Event Round of 64 Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinal Semifinal Final / BM
Opposition
Score		 Opposition
Score		 Opposition
Score		 Opposition
Score		 Opposition
Score		 Opposition
Score		 Rank
Nguyễn Tiến Minh Men's singles Bye  Hsieh Y-H (TPE)
L 16–21, 21–15, 15–21		 Did not advance
Lê Ngọc Nguyên Nhung Women's singles  Jayasinghe (SRI)
W 21–13, 21–12		  Hirose (JPN)
L 7–21, 12–21		 Did not advance

Gymnastics
Main article: Gymnastics at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Artistic

Đỗ Thị Ngân Thương represented Vietnam in artistic gymnastics, becoming the first Vietnamese gymnast to be selected for Olympic competition.[5] Although she did not qualify individually, she received a wild card invitation from the International Olympic Committee.[6] She competed in the qualification stage, where her 52.1 final score placed her in 59th overall, missing the event and all-around competition finals. On 15 August 2008, Thuong failed a drugs test for furosemide and her result was disqualified. IOC professor Arne Ljungqvist suggested Thuong's drug use was due to "poor information of the athlete", rather than a deliberate attempt to violate the rules.[7]

Women
Athlete Event Qualification Final
Apparatus Total Rank Apparatus Total Rank
F V UB BB F V UB BB
Đỗ Thị Ngân Thương All-around 11.900 13.400 12.575 14.225 52.100 DSQ Did not advance

Shooting
Main article: Shooting at the 2008 Summer Olympics

One athlete qualified to compete in two shooting events. Nguyễn Mạnh Tường failed to advance in either the 10 metre or 50 metre pistol events.

Men
Athlete Event Qualification Final
Points Rank Points Rank
Nguyễn Mạnh Tường 10 m air pistol 572 34 Did not advance
50 m pistol 543 38 Did not advance

Swimming
Main article: Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics

One athlete qualified to compete in swimming at the Games, finishing 58th and failing to advance.

Men
Athlete Event Heat Semifinal Final
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Nguyễn Hữu Việt 100 m breaststroke 1:06.36 58 Did not advance

Table tennis
Main article: Table tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics

One athlete competed for Vietnam in the men's table tennis singles tournament. Đoàn Kiến Quốc won his first two matches, but lost in the second round to a Russian opponent.

Athlete Event Preliminary round Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final / BM
Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Rank
Đoàn Kiến Quốc Men's singles  Zalcberg (AUS)
W 4–0		  Legoût (FRA)
W 4–2		  Smirnov (RUS)
L 1–4		 Did not advance

Taekwondo
Main article: Taekwondo at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Vietnam sent three athletes to compete in three taekwondo events at these Games. The team had an overall record of 1-3, with only Trần Thị Ngọc Trúc managing to win a match. Trần qualified for the repechage after her second round opponent made the final, but could not advance to a bronze medal match.

Athlete Event Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Repechage Bronze Medal Final
Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Rank
Nguyễn Văn Hùng Men's +80 kg  Chukwumerije (NGR)
L 1–3		 Did not advance
Trần Thị Ngọc Trúc Women's −49 kg  Tona (PNG)
W 5–0		  Puedpong (THA)
L 1–2		 Did not advance  Montejo (CUB)
L 0–4		 Did not advance
Nguyễn Thị Hoài Thu Women's −57 kg  Diedhiou (SEN)
L 0–1		 Did not advance

Weightlifting
Main article: Weightlifting at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Two athletes competed in two weightlifting events at the games. Hoàng Anh Tuấn was ranked fifth in the world in his category and was called Vietnam's best chance at a medal in the Games.[8] This turned out to be an accurate assessment, as he lifted 130 kilograms in the snatch leaving him tied in lift weight for 2nd, but losing a tie on body weight. In the clean and jerk, Hoàng made his first lift at 155 kilos, but missed his second attempt at 160 and fell back to 4th. However, on his final lift he was successful at 160 kilograms, while his opponents in the battle for the silver medal all missed at that weight or selected a lower weight to attempt, moving him into second place by two kilograms. This was just the second Olympic medal in Vietnamese history, and the first in weightlifting.

Athlete Event Snatch Clean & Jerk Total Rank
Result Rank Result Rank
Hoàng Anh Tuấn Men's −56 kg 130 3 160 2 290
Nguyễn Thị Thiết Women's −63 kg 100 7 125 6 225 4

See also

References
  1. "List of Flagbearers Beijing 2008" (PDF). www.olympic.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  2. "NOC Biography VIE - Vietnam". Official Beijing 2008 website. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  3. "Vietnamese athletes ready to take on Olympics". Vietnam News. August 7, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  4. "Viet Nam team depart for Beijing". Vietnam News. August 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  5. "22 athletes to compete at Beijing Olympics". Nhan Dan. August 7, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-08-03. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  6. "Olympic Qualification". NBC Universal. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  7. "Duo fails drugs test". sportinglife.com. August 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  8. "Athletes upbeat as Olympic competition nears". Thanhnien News. August 7, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-08-22. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
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