The Vietnamese sports delegation attended the 33rd SEA Games with 1,165 members, including 842 athletes, competing in 47 sports with 443 competition events.
This year, Vietnamese sports aim to win 80-100 gold medals and are in the leading group in Southeast Asia. Sports expected to become the "gold mine" of Vietnam at the 33rd SEA Games include athletics, weightlifting, swimming, wushu...
Athletics
At the 31st SEA Games (2022) at home, Vietnam's athletics is one of the outstanding competing teams with 22 gold medals and the top spot in the overall group.
A year later, at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia, this sport continued to prove its leading role when it brought home 12 gold medals.
The stability has laid the foundation for Vietnamese sports' confidence in athletics at the 33rd SEA Games.
Athletes who are capable of competing for gold medals include Nguyen Thi Oanh (5,000 m, 10,000 m, 3,000 m hurdles), Nguyen Thi My Tien (100 m hurdles), Hoang Thanh Giang (7 coordination events), Nguyen Thi Thu Ha (800 m), Nguyen Trung Cuong (3,000 m hurdles), Ngan Ngoc Nghia (100 m)...
Before the 33rd SEA Games, the Vietnamese athletics team also had training trips to China and France, creating a stepping stone to perfect their expertise and be ready to compete for medals.
Swimming
Similar to athletics, the Vietnamese swimming team always plays a key role in winning gold medals at the SEA Games.
At the 31st SEA Games, the Vietnamese swimming team, although no longer featured by Anh Vien, still won 11 gold medals, ranking 2nd in the overall group behind Singapore.
At the Congress in Cambodia, the swimming team decreased when winning 7 gold medals. However, this is still a top achievement because at that time the athlete squad was affected by injuries.
At this year's SEA Games, swimming was carefully prepared to improve expertise and improve individual achievements for the swimming actors.
Among these, Nguyen Huy Hoang is the number 1 expectation for Vietnamese swimming when he is in the top of the region. He has achieved many outstanding achievements at previous Congresses such as gold medals in the 400m, 800m, 1,500m freestyle.
Besides Huy Hoang, the swimming team has many other outstanding faces such as Tran Hung Nguyen, Hoang Quy Phuoc, Thanh Bao - all of whom are key factors to compete for medals.
In addition, two young athletes Vo Thi My Tien and Nguyen Thuy Hien are also highly appreciated, promising a breakthrough at the 33rd SEA Games.
This year, the Vietnamese swimming team aims to win 6-8 gold medals.
Subjects
In recent years, opponents Thailand and Indonesia have shown clear progress. However, the Vietnamese national team is still highly appreciated and has superiority in terms of technical foundation and physical strength. Therefore, this continues to be a key sport of Vietnam at the 33rd SEA Games.
Previously, at the SEA Games, the event that contributed a large number of gold medals to Vietnamese sports won 17 gold medals in 2022 and 13 gold medals in 2023.
This year, the participating force of the weightlifting team has a combination of experience and youth, capable of competing in regional arenas.
Despite only setting a modest goal of winning 6 gold medals at the 33rd SEA Games, the Vietnamese national team still promises to bring a "golden rain" to Vietnamese sports.
Wushu
Wushu Vietnam participated in the 33rd SEA Games with athletes Duong Thuy Vi, Dang Tran Phuong Nhi, Nguyen Thi Hien, Nguyen Van Phuong, Nong Van Huu, Vu Van Tuan, Do Duc Tai... These are all familiar faces who have won many regional and continental awards.
However, this year, host Thailand has introduced a new format when 23 sets of medals were withdrawn to 14 sets. This is the difficulty that athletes have to face in the upcoming journey.
However, that is also a common challenge for other sports delegations and Vietnamese wushu can still win many medals if they develop their abilities properly.
Shooting, archery
The 33rd SEA Games has the return of shooting and archery. Opportunities are opened for Vietnamese sports, as well as athletes such as Trinh Thu Vinh, Pham Quang Huy (shooting) or Anh Nguyet, Quoc Phong (archery) competing for medals.
Notably, these are both ASIAD and Olympic sports. Therefore, the achievements of shooting and archery are an important stepping stone for athletes to aim for further goals next year.
In addition, some sports in the Olympic group are also expected to win 3-5 gold medals such as gymnastics, fencing, etc.
