'Vietnamese sports have only met the minimum target, there are still many regrets'

In many competitions, Vietnamese athletes could have done better.

The Vietnamese sports delegation has won 3 gold medals, 5 silver medals and 18 bronze medals at the 19th ASIAD as of the end of the competition day on October 7, temporarily ranking 21st in the whole delegation and 6th in Southeast Asia, after Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore. Although it ranked first in Southeast Asia in the last two SEA Games, when entering the Asian arena, Vietnamese sports are currently ranked below many countries in the region.

According to the Director of the Department of Sports and Physical Training, head of the Vietnamese sports delegation at the 19th ASIAD, Dang Ha Viet, there are many competitions and events in which Vietnamese athletes can do better.

"Up to this point at ASIAD 19, the Vietnamese sports delegation has won 3 gold medals, 5 silver medals and 18 bronze medals. In terms of targets, we have reached over 50% of the maximum. As for the minimum target, the athletes have completed it. In terms of expertise, there are many things to regret. Firstly, athlete Nguyen Thi That (cycling) suffered multiple injuries before ASIAD 19, and only had 1 month to train again for the tournament. During the competition, Nguyen Thi That was very determined to win the gold medal, which was a commendable effort. However, it was beyond her control.

Shooter Pham Quang Huy won the first gold medal for Vietnam at the 19th ASIAD

Gold medal in karate performance

Karate brings gold medal to Vietnamese sports

The second regret is in boxing, where high expectations were placed on athletes Ha Thi Linh and Nguyen Thi Tam. However, Nguyen Thi Tam was injured before the 32nd SEA Games, so she did not achieve the desired performance. In shooting, besides shooter Pham Quang Huy, we also look forward to shooter Ha Minh Thanh with his quite stable training results. However, the change in the rules of ASIAD (the final round will compete in 2 rounds, selecting 2 athletes) requires stability and competitive mentality of the athletes. Quang Huy achieved this to win the gold medal.

Sepak Takraw achieved the set target (1 gold medal, 1 silver medal). In Chinese chess, we expected the mixed event, but in the final match, the athletes did not show their mettle. In addition, having to go behind (due to holding the black pieces) against the two top Chinese players in the world was also difficult," Mr. Dang Ha Viet shared.

Power in Southeast Asia but...

Director Dang Ha Viet also said that in sports, competition results also depend on luck as well as the bravery and class of athletes, so there are unpredictable risks that cannot be accurately predicted.

"Overall assessment of Vietnamese sports, if comparing previous SEA Games with SEA Games 31 and 32, it is clear that we are a major force in Southeast Asia. However, Vietnam's current achievements at ASIAD 19 are limited compared to the region. This was predicted in advance. Therefore, the Vietnamese delegation only set a target of 2 to 5 gold medals. Many of the competitions at ASIAD 19 are related to the draw (probability of luck), or the athletes' courage in competition. In this matter, the athletes will be the ones to decide, so the Vietnamese delegation cannot set an exact number of medals.

Sepak Takraw brought home 1 gold medal and 1 silver medal for the Vietnamese sports delegation.

The good news is that athlete Huy Hoang met the A standard to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics. This is a great effort by Huy Hoang, but unfortunately his expert (Mr. Hoang Quoc Huy, Chinese) is no longer there. Mr. Huy has brought Huy Hoang to new heights. Now we cannot find a highly qualified expert to bring Huy Hoang to the top of the Olympics," Mr. Dang Ha Viet shared.

Do Thanh Nhan won a karate bronze medal

Lai Ly Huynh (right) won a bronze medal in Chinese chess.

Systemic problem

According to Director Dang Ha Viet, the problem of Vietnamese sports is systemic. To have good athletes, Vietnamese sports need to develop in schools, expand the scale of selection and training, and cannot just focus on the surface.

"In the matter of developing high-performance sports, we cannot have ASIAD or Olympic champions in just 1 or 2 days. This is a story that requires a systematic system, including physical education . For any sport that is determined to be a key Olympic sport, we need a selection system across 63 provinces and cities, a competition system in schools from the elementary level,... from which to select many talented athletes at that level.

Currently, for example, sepak takraw has only a small group, some places invest, we do not have a system from primary, secondary, high school or university, so this process cannot be called key investment. The so-called "key" sports in Vietnam currently are just the issue of experts, training, competition, that the more athletes compete, the more they improve their level. However, those athletes are not the most talented or gifted. Selecting athletes is like "panning for gold". We "panning for sand" in 63 provinces and cities, in the competition system of primary schools, secondary schools, Vietnamese sports will have many athletes", Director Dang Ha Viet analyzed.

Olympic sports like archery need more investment

Mr. Dang Ha Viet also shared: "The current trend of high-performance sports brings a relatively disadvantageous problem to Southeast Asian countries, which is that events with small weight classes have been removed from the Olympic program. For example, the 56 kg weight class of weightlifting is a sport event that Vietnam used to invest in to win medals, but now it is no longer in the program. In addition, Vietnamese sports invested in rowing, but at the 19th ASIAD, the organizing committee did not include light boats in the competition.

In rowing, most Vietnamese athletes are short and underweight and at a disadvantage... Now it is very difficult to find athletes taller than 1.8 m. All sports today require height. We have a project to improve the height of Vietnamese people, but there is no synchronous coordination between education and health. Therefore, athlete selection is also very difficult, including women's football. In the near future, the Philippine women's team will be a new force in Southeast Asia because they are naturalized, have many players with height and physical strength, while the Vietnamese players' height is not ideal enough to aim for the World Cup."

Ranking results as of October 7th

Vietnam falls out of the top 20

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