Bac Thi Khiem achieved her goal of becoming the best in Asia, winning the only gold medal for Vietnam’s taekwondo team at the 2024 Asian Championships held in Da Nang. Her precise kick in the final match secured an 8-0 victory in the third round against Song Jie from China, ultimately winning 2-1 in the women’s 67kg category. The tournament concluded on May 18.
In an emotional moment following her victory, Bac Thi Khiem proudly raised the Vietnamese flag and ran around the mat to celebrate. The athlete from Son La had long awaited this moment, and now her dream has come true.
This gold medal is Bac Thi Khiem’s first at the Asian Championships, adding to her triumph in May 2022 at the 31st SEA Games, where she also won gold in the women’s 67kg category. For two years, she harbored the ambition of becoming the Asian champion, and now she has achieved it.
To reach this level of success, Bac Thi Khiem, like other Vietnamese female taekwondo athletes, underwent rigorous training. Industry insiders predicted she would have a significant year, and this prediction came true. On the first day of the Lunar New Year 2024, Bac Thi Khiem won a silver medal at an international taekwondo competition in Canada, setting a positive tone for her year. “I have worked hard in every competition, and the most important thing is that I have achieved my goals,” Khiem shared.
In the past two years, from the 31st SEA Games until now, Bac Thi Khiem has shown remarkable progress. At the 32nd SEA Games in May 2023, she reached the finals but narrowly missed gold, losing to Cambodian fighter Casandre Tubbs and settling for silver.
Unfazed by this setback, Khiem continued to train diligently, aiming for bigger targets such as the 19th Asian Games (ASIAD 19). She was initially chosen to carry the Vietnamese flag at the opening ceremony, but was replaced last minute to focus on her matches. Despite this, Khiem secured a bronze medal at ASIAD 19, her first at this prestigious event.
Her victory at the 2024 Asian Taekwondo Championships is especially sweet as she avenged her previous loss to Song Jie, who had defeated her in the ASIAD 19 semi-finals. Their rematch in Da Nang saw Bac Thi Khiem emerge victorious, clinching the Asian title.
Adding to her joy, Bac Thi Khiem was recently admitted to the Communist Party of Vietnam, becoming a young party member. At 24, she is committed to striving for more achievements for Vietnamese sports and national taekwondo.
“Overwhelmed with emotion. I sincerely thank the leaders of the Hanoi National Sports Training Center, the Son La Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Son La Sports Training and Competition Center, the Vietnam Taekwondo Federation, the Taekwondo Department of the General Department of Physical Education and Sports, and the national team coaching staff and Son La unit for encouraging and supporting me to achieve this success… No victory is easy, and when one door closes, another opens. Thank you to myself for not giving up over the past time,” Bac Thi Khiem expressed.
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