Bangkok, Dec. 17 -- Vietnam sustained their upward momentum at the 33rd SEA Games as pencak silat and rowing once again delivered golds, pushing the nation's total haul to 53 gold medals on December 17 morning.

The spotlight fell on Nguyen Tan Sang, who produced a disciplined performance to retain his SEA Games crown in the men's 75-80kg pencak silat final. Facing a home favourite, the Vietnamese fighter controlled the contest to secure a dominant 84-53 victory, underlining his composure on the stage.

The final was hard-fought and physically demanding. Sang absorbed several heavy blows and was briefly floored, but his resilience proved decisive as he returned to dictate the tempo and close out a convincing win. The result added another ...