Vietnam take 1st at Asian Bodybuilding Champs

Vietnam topped Thailand to win the Asian Bodybuilding and Fitness Championship after a two-day competition in the southern city of Bien Hoa last weekend.

The team bagged five gold, three silver and one bronze medal, while South Korea and Singapore took the second and the third places, respectively.

After taking three gold medals during last Friday's opening night, national champion Nguyen Thi My Linh from HCM City, who competed in the women's over-52kg class, took the gold after beating rivals from South Korea and Singapore.

Trinh Phi Hung, 50, showed off his muscles on the victory podium in the men's master bodybuilding. He took the last gold medal for Vietnam at the Asian event.

Vietnam's gold medals were carried off by Nguyen Minh Phong at the 55kg, Dang Thanh Tung, 60kg and Nguyen Thu Nguyen, 65kg, of the junior men's weight divisions.

In the Miss Fitness, Pham Thi Ngoc Trang brought home a silver medal in her debut championship.

The championship attracted 95 athletes from 15 Asian countries and territories, who took part in 18 categories in five events, including junior men's bodybuilding, master men's bodybuilding, women's bodybuilding, miss fitness and miss body fitness.

The Vietnam bodybuilding team will start an intense training regiment after the tournaments in preparation for major competition: the World Bodybuilding Championship in Ostrava, Czech Republic, in October.

The best bodybuilders will also get a place on the national squad at the Asian Games in Qatar this December.