Considered to be one of the 54kg male candidates, but the boxer Tran Van Thao had to go through a howling match in the quarterfinals. Before rival Le Van Hien (Ho Chi Minh City), the boxer born in 1992 could only win close to 1 point.
In the match against Le Van Hien, Tran Van Thao took the initiative in the first half. But in the second half, the game gradually belonged to the boxer of Ho Chi Minh City in the last seconds. Tran Van Thao was completely overwhelmed by the opponent when the match entered the 3rd half. He even was punched by Van Hien, he had to take care of the doctor.
The opponent of Tran Van Thao in the semi -final round is Bui Trong Thai also experienced an equally difficult match. He was punched by Dinh Van Thi (Da Nang) Knock-down in the first half.
The heavy blow from Dinh Van Thi caused Bui Trong Thai to tear the eyebrows, flowing quite a lot of blood. The following minutes, he constantly had to rely on the care of the doctors to continue playing. The army fighters regained the balance in the second half, then continued to play in the third half to turn the flag.
The victory in the quarterfinals brought Tran Van Thao and Bui Trong Thai to reunite in the next round. In the past, they used to encounter each other many times, with the victory equally divided by both. While Tran Van Thao has the power of a professional boxer, Bui Trong Thai has a high speed of Boxing.