Vietnamese Boxing Wins Second Ticket to 2024 Olympics

On the evening of June 1, Ha Thi Linh lost 0-5 to Swedish boxer Agnes Alexiusson in the Olympic ticket match. Therefore, she had to enter the play-off match this afternoon, meeting the loser of the remaining pair, Vilma Viitanen - a Finnish boxer who specializes in the women's 57kg class.

Entering the match at Huamark Stadium, Ha Thi Linh dominated the first round, then switched to defense and counterattacks in the remaining two rounds. Her opponent tried to fight back but could not make the Vietnamese boxer get carried away. In the end, Ha Thi Linh won 4-1, with the scores from the five judges being 30-27, 29-28, 28-28, 29-28 and 29-28 respectively.

Ha Thi Linh was born in 1993 and is of the Tay ethnic group. She left her hometown of Lao Cai to Hanoi to practice boxing at the age of 12 and became a professional athlete after three years. This boxer won a gold medal in the 63 kg category at the 2013 and 2023 SEA Games. Currently, Linh has two children but still pursues her passion for boxing and reaches the peak of her career with her first ticket to the Olympics at the age of 31.

Ha Thi Linh became the second Vietnamese boxer to come to Paris this summer, after Vo Thi Kim Anh won a ticket to the women's 54kg category - achieved in the first Olympic qualifying round in March.

Vietnamese Boxing completed the target of winning two places at the 2024 Paris Olympics, repeating the previous achievement, with Nguyen Van Duong in the men's 57kg category and Nguyen Thi Tam in the women's 51kg category. Previously, Vietnam had two boxers attending the 1988 Seoul Olympics: Dang Hieu Hien in the men's 48kg category and Do Tien Tuan in the men's 67kg category.

Vietnamese sports currently have 11 official tickets for the 2024 Olympics. Before Ha Thi Linh, the ticket winners include Nguyen Thi That (cycling), Trinh Thu Vinh, Le Thi Mong Tuyen (shooting), Vo Thi Kim Anh (boxing), Nguyen Huy Hoang (swimming), Trinh Van Vinh (weightlifting), Nguyen Thuy Linh, Le Duc Phat (badminton), Nguyen Thi Huong (canoeing) and Pham Thi Hue (rowing). In addition, swimmer Vo Thi My Tien is waiting for an official announcement from the World Swimming Federation.

The 2024 Olympic Boxing Qualifiers will be held in Thailand from May 24 to June 3, with 578 boxers from 132 countries competing. This is the final tournament for boxers around the world to seek tickets to Paris.

Previously, in the men's category, Nguyen Minh Cuong lost 2-3 to Ecuadorian Luis Delgado in the second round of the 51kg category. Nguyen Van Duong lost 1-4 to Uruguayan Lucas Fernandez in the second round of the 57kg category. Van Duong and Nguyen Thi Tam are two Vietnamese athletes participating in the 2020 Olympics, but both missed out on this event. In the 63.5kg category, Vu Thanh Dat lost to Mongolian Erdenebatyn Tsendbaatar in the first round. Nguyen Duc Long lost to Brazilian Wanderson Oliveira in the first round of the 71kg category. Nguyen Manh Cuong lost 0-5 to Lithuanian Robertas Liorancas 0-5 in the first round of the 80kg category. Doan Ngoc Minh Hieu lost to Irish boxer in the first round of the over 92kg category.

In the women's category, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tran lost to North Korean fighter Kang Su-hyang 0-5 in the first round of the 50kg category. Nguyen Huyen Tran lost to Thai fighter Nilawan Techasuep 0-5 in the second round of the 57kg category. Hoang Ngoc Mai lost to Irish fighter Grainne Walsh in the preliminary round of the 66kg category. Luu Diem Quynh lost to Venezuelan fighter Maryelis Yriza 0-5 in the first round of the 75kg category.