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). The Vietnam Olympic Committee sent thirteen athletes to compete in eight of the 28 Olympic sports. It is the largest ever contingent for the nation, up from 11 in the 2004 games.
Medalists Medal Name Sport Event Date Hoàng Anh Tuấn Weightlifting Men's 56 kgAugust 10
Athletics
Two athletes represented Vietnam in Beijing.
Men AthleteEventHeatSemifinalFinalResultRankResultRankResultRankNguyễn Đình Cương800 m1:52.067Did not advance
Women AthleteEventHeatQuarterfinalSemifinalFinalResultRankResultRankResultRankResultRankVũ Thị Hương100 m11.653 Q11.708Did not advance
Badminton
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.
AthleteEventRound of 64Round of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalSemifinalFinal / OppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreRankNguyễn Tiến MinhMen's singlesL 16–21, 21–15, 15–21Did not advanceLê Ngọc Nguyên NhungWomen's singlesW 21–13, 21–12 L 7–21, 12–21 Did not advance
Gymnastics
Artistic Đỗ Thị Ngân Thương represented Vietnam in artistic gymnastics, becoming the first Vietnamese gymnast to be selected for Olympic competition. Although she did not qualify individually, she received a wild card invitation from the International Olympic Committee. 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.
Women AthleteEventQualificationFinalApparatusTotalRankApparatusTotalRankĐỗ Thị Ngân Thương All-around11.90013.40012.57514.22552.100Did not advance
Shooting
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 AthleteEventQualificationFinalPointsRankPointsRankNguyễn Mạnh Tường10 m air pistol57234Did not advance50 m pistol54338Did not advance
Swimming
One athlete qualified to compete in swimming at the Games, finishing 58th and failing to advance.
Men AthleteEventHeatSemifinalFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankNguyễn Hữu Việt100 m breaststroke1:06.3658Did not advance
Table tennis
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.
AthleteEventPreliminary roundRound 1Round 2Round 3QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal / OppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultRankĐoàn Kiến QuốcMen's singlesW 4–0 W 4–2 L 1–4Did not advance
Taekwondo
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.
AthleteEventRound of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsRepechage Bronze MedalFinalOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultRankNguyễn Văn HùngMen's +80 kgL 1–3 Did not advanceTrần Thị Ngọc TrúcWomen's −49 kgW 5–0L 1–2Did not advanceL 0–4Did not advanceNguyễn Thị Hoài ThuWomen's −57 kg L 0–1Did not advance
Weightlifting
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. 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.
AthleteEventSnatchClean & JerkTotalRankResultRankResultRankHoàng Anh TuấnMen's −56 kg13031602290Nguyễn Thị ThiếtWomen's −63 kg100712562254
See also Vietnam at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
References
Official 2008 Summer Olympics Results Website