Before Tran Thi Linh stepped onto the competition, the Vietnamese boxing team played 2 matches on the third day of competition. Before that, Tran Duc Tho lost in the weight of 69kg, and Nguyen Thi Tam won an easy victory when playing the 51kg weight class. That helps Linh have a relaxed psychology before entering the final match of May 18.
The opponent of Tran Thi Linh in the final match was Sudaporn Seesondee, Thai boxer. Sudaporn is considered to be the No. 1 candidate for the title of championship with a remarkable achievement: The defending champion of the 30 SEA Games, the reigning Asiad 2018 runner -up
With that remarkable achievement table, Sudaporn was highly appreciated than Tran Thi Linh before the match took place. However, all parameters and achievements have become meaningless with the performance of two boxers on the competition. With the advantage of playing at home and cheered by the audience, Tran Thi Linh played a very good match against Sudaporn.
In the first half, Tran Thi Linh was not afraid to exchange punches with Sudaporn despite being judged at the lower door. The Vietnamese boxer play showed when he came to the radio surprised Sudaporn. At the end of the first half of the match, 3/5 assessment of the victory was in favor of Tran Thi Linh. Only 2 people said Sudaporn won.
Video match of Tran Thi Linh
Entering the second half, Tran Thi Linh accelerated. She attacked more, faster and stronger when targeting Sudaporn. Thai boxers frantically dodged and moved to compete, and that made her fall twice. The referee must ask for a few seconds to pause in each situation for the boxers to stabilize before continuing to play.
At the end of the second half, all 5 assessments scored 10-9 for Tran Thi Linh. That advantage helped her play the third half with a slightly reduced pace, although it was more or less the advantage before the opponent. Linh continued to be won by 3/5 of the victory assessment in this half, thereby winning the common point by calculating the point.
With the victory over the candidate champion Sudaporn, Tran Thi Linh created the biggest surprise on the third day of Boxing Sea Games 31, thereby closing a successful day for the Vietnamese team. This victory also helped Linh become one of the candidates for the gold medal when she defeated the most appreciated boxer in this weight class.