Vietnamese trio retain world taekwondo gold in S.Korea

The trio defeated a strong South Korean team in the semifinals before beating Germany in the final on Saturday to retain the title they won at the 2024 world championships in Hong Kong.

After receiving a bye in the opening round, the Vietnamese athletes beat Mexico in the second round to advance to the semifinals.

They then faced the host team from South Korea, which posed a major challenge for the Vietnamese trio.

However, Van, Kim and Mai delivered an excellent performance to defeat their South Korean rivals and secure a place in the final, where they maintained their strong form to beat the three German athletes and successfully defend their world title.

Van, 36, said she felt extremely happy after winning the gold medal.

"I was a little nervous after we finished our performance. When I learned that we had won, I felt incredibly happy," she recalled.

Recalling the decisive semifinal against South Korea, Van said the Vietnamese team entered the contest with confidence, knowing that it could effectively be considered an early final.

"We were determined to give our best because, whether we won or lost, we knew we had to make every effort," she said.

Van also noted that the current South Korean trio was younger and stronger than the team Vietnam defeated in the final at the 2024 world championships.

"We performed well and managed to win," she said.

Separately, Van also won a silver medal in the women's under-40 individual standard poomsae event after losing to Chang Ting Jung of Chinese Taipei in the final.

The team gold medal was Vietnam's second at the 2026 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships.

Earlier, Kim and Nguyen Thien Phung won Vietnam's first gold medal at the tournament in the under-50 mixed-pair standard poomsae event.

Starting on Wednesday, the championships will run through Sunday, with a record 1,411 athletes from 83 countries and regions, as well as the World Taekwondo Refugee Team, competing across 42 medal events.