Medal target
Nguyen Thi Oanh is one of the most experienced athletes of the athletics team. This is the 3rd time the female athlete has participated in ASIAD, after winning a bronze medal at the 2018 Games. Experience competing in continental arenas helps Nguyen Thi Oanh continue to be expected in the long-distance event group.
Meanwhile, Ta Ngoc Tuong is participating in ASIAD for the first time after making a clear step forward in the 400m event. At the AFC U23 Championship, he won a Silver Medal with a time of 45 seconds 50. At this year's Games, Ngoc Tuong will compete in the 400m individual and 4x400m men's relay with Le Ngoc Phuc, Tran Dinh Son and Vu Ngoc Khanh.
Other young faces such as Le Thi Cam Tu, Phung Thi Hue, Ha Thi Thuy Hang and Pham Van Nghia were also given opportunities at this congress. The combination of a group of experienced athletes and potential young athletes is part of the preparation plan of the Vietnam Athletics Team.
In the women's 4x400m relay event, Quach Thi Lan, Nguyen Thi Hang, Hoang Thi Minh Hanh and Nguyen Thi Ngoc continue to be important supports. These 4 athletes have won Gold medals at the 2026 Asian Relay Championships with a time of 3 minutes 31 seconds 16 and are expected to improve their performance and compete for medals at this year's Games.
The women's 4x100m relay team including Hoang Du Y, Kha Thanh Truc, Phung Thi Hue, Le Thi Cam Tu and Ha Thi Thu also participated in ASIAD. At SEA Games 33, this group won a Silver Medal with a time of 43 seconds 91, before reaching 44 seconds 13 and ranking 4th at this year's Asian relay championship.
The problem from old parameters
The results in 2026 are the basis for Vietnamese athletics to set goals, but the achievements at ASIAD 19 show that the medal competition still has a gap.
In Hangzhou 3 years ago, the Vietnamese women's 4x400m team completed the competition with a time of 3 minutes 31 seconds 61, ranking 4th overall. Sri Lanka's achievement in the Bronze Medal position was 3 minutes 30 seconds 88, Bahrain won the Gold Medal with 3 minutes 27 seconds 65, and India won the Silver Medal with 3 minutes 27 seconds 85, showing a significant gap.
The Vietnamese women's team improved their performance when they won the 2026 Asian Gold Medal with 3 minutes 31 seconds 16. This achievement is better than the result in Hangzhou by 0.45 seconds, but still 0.28 seconds slower than the bronze medal of ASIAD 19.
The gap in the men's 4x400m relay event is smaller. The Vietnamese team won a Bronze Medal at the 2026 Asian Relay Championships with a time of 3 minutes 02 seconds 60. This achievement is only 0.05 seconds slower than the figure that helped Sri Lanka win a Bronze Medal at the previous Games, quite close to the medal group.
However, the results of the previous 3 years are only for reference. The performance of opponents at ASIAD 20 will be decided at the time of competition, while the relay race also depends on coordination and each baton award.
To prepare for the Games, 18 Vietnamese athletes had 1 month of training in China before returning home at the end of August. Key groups, including 4x400m women's and 4x100m women's, were arranged with separate training programs.
After the overseas training phase, the team continues to improve their expertise at the National Sports Training Center before going to Japan. Preparations are being implemented in the direction of focusing on competitive content instead of spreading out the force.
Vietnamese athletics aims to reach the final in all events registered for the final, and strive to win 1 Gold Medal, 1 Silver Medal and 2 Bronze Medals. This is also one of the key sports in the development program towards the Olympics.
Athletics events at ASIAD 20 start from September 24th.
