Vietnam boxer frustrated with defeat after controversy in SEA Games final against Thailand

Duong said that an illegal elbow strike by Thailand’s Sukthet Sarawut caused him an injury that forced the match to be stopped on Friday.

The final began with Duong struggling to find his rhythm against the home fighter. He lost both the first and second rounds with a unanimous score of 9-10 from all five judges, leaving him trailing on the scorecards. Desperate to turn the tide, the Vietnamese fighter came out aggressively in the third round. However, the effort came to a bloody halt after just 30 seconds.

As Sarawut was in a defensive stance with his arms raised, Duong lunged forward to close the distance. However, the Vietnamese boxer’s head struck his opponent’s left elbow, opening a 5 cm cut above his right eyebrow. The referee immediately paused the match for a medical inspection, but because the bleeding could not be stopped, he gave Duong a technical knockout loss.

In boxing regulations, facial injuries that impair vision or endanger a fighter’s health reduce the chance of fair and safe competition. While stopping the game is common in the sport, the severity of the cut is determined by the referee and the medical team, with the priority being to protect the athlete’s long-term health.

However, Duong claimed he was treated unfairly.

“When I initiated the attack, my opponent was pointing his elbow forward and that was a foul,” Duong said while receiving treatment. “In terms of the fight, my opponent might have been slightly better, but that wasn’t fair play. I wanted to finish three rounds, regardless of the outcome.”

Vietnam coaches also signaled to the referee that Sarawut had intentionally exposed his elbow. However, the Thailand team reenacted the sequence, arguing that Sarawut was maintaining a standard defensive guard when Duong initiated the collision. Ultimately, Duong and the team accepted the result.

The loss extends a streak of bad luck for Duong at the SEA Games. A silver medalist at the 30th SEA Games, he missed the 31st edition due to Covid-19. At the 32nd SEA Games, he was eliminated in the quarterfinals by defending champion Clark Bautista of the Philippines under a similar situation.

At the start of the third round, Duong had a cut to his left eyelid that forced a medical stoppage, resulting in a technical knockout defeat. His team deemed the cut premature and he can continue the fight, but the referee’s decision was final.

Duong, 29, rose to prominence in 2020 with a stunning victory over world number 11, Thailand’s Chatchai Butdee in the Olympic qualifiers, a win that propelled him to the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, where he reached the round of 16.

Thailand have secured a staggering 14 gold medals in boxing at the 33rd SEA Games.

The only gold medals to escape the hosts went to Ha Thi Linh (Vietnam) in the women’s 60kg category, Vicky Tahumil (Indonesia) in the men’s 51kg, and Eumir Marcial (Philippines) in the men’s 80g.

Vietnamese boxer controversially lost to Thailand at SEA Games 33