SANYA, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam beat China 2-1 in a shootout to win the women's beach handball gold medal on Thursday in the final event of the 6th Asian Beach Games.

Vietnam took the first set 20-18 with a series of quick attacks before China held its nerve to edge the second 21-20 and force a shootout. Vietnam then prevailed 9-6 to secure the title.

"All our players gave their full effort and competed with total commitment," said China coach Shang Xi, who admitted the team "made a few mistakes and failed to adjust in time."

"Vietnam is very strong. We have learned valuable lessons and will prepare better for future competitions," Shang added.

Thailand beat Turkmenistan 2-0 to claim the women's bronze medal.

In the men's event, Iran won its first beach handball gold on Wednesday, defeating three-time champion Qatar 2-1 in the final.

"In my opinion, it came down to our own mistakes. We managed to make up for some of them in the second half, but we missed too many crucial shots," said Qatar's Mutasem Mohamed.

The bronze medal went to Thailand, which beat Bahrain 2-0. ■