Olympia at the 33rd SEA Games
Head of the Vietnamese sports delegation at the 33rd SEA Games, Mr. Nguyen Hong Minh affirmed in his report at the Departure Ceremony that: "National teams are consolidated and reinforced, and proactively select athletes with outstanding abilities and great potential to win medals to include in the preparation list for the 33rd SEA Games".
Vietnam Sports has determined to strive to win a top spot in the 33rd SEA Games. However, the main long-term strategic problem is developing professional achievements as an opportunity to determine the ability to achieve high results for the 20th ASIAD in 2026 and the 2028 Olympics.
A year ago, the Vietnam Sports Delegation participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics (France) included 16 athletes: Tran Thi Nhi Yen (athletics), Trinh Thu Vinh, Le Thi Mong Tuyen (shooting), Nguyen Huy Hoang, Vo Thi My Tien (swimming), Pham Thi Hue (rowing), Nguyen Thi Huong (canoeing), Do Thi Anh Nguyet, Le Quoc Phong (archery), Nguyen Thi That (cycling), Ha Thi Linh, Vo Thi Kim Anh (boxing), Trinh Van Vinh (weightlifting), Hoang Thi Tinh (judo), Nguyen Thuy Linh, Le Duc Phat (badminton).
After a year, there are only 3 athletes absent from the 33rd SEA Games: Nhi Yen, Van Vinh and Hoang Thi Tinh. The remaining people continue to be members of the Vietnam Sports Delegation participating in the 33rd SEA Games and are given the hope of winning Gold Medals. In contrast to time, with a team of 16 athletes who participated in the Tokyo Olympics (Japan) 2020, Vietnamese sports still have a number of athletes competing and receiving a place to participate in the 33rd SEA Games including Truong Thi Kim Tuyen (taekwondo), Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy (judo), Nguyen Huy Hoang (swimming), Nguyen Thuy Linh (badminton), Dinh Phuong Thanh (phods), Do Thi Anh Nguyet (archery) and Luong Thi Thao, Dinh Thi Hao (rowing). Currently, they are still of age to compete for medals in the Southeast Asian arena.
To give athletes good momentum after achieving results at the SEA Games and then developing to the ASIAD or the Olympics, it is a problem that requires active investment - sports expert Nguyen Hong Minh (former Director of the Department of High Performance Sports 1, General Department of Physical Education and Sports) once analyzed.
How to promote expertise?
Two years ago, boxer Nguyen Thi Tam (boxing) was expected to win a Gold Medal at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia, but she failed in the first match and was eliminated. The loss of Nguyen Thi Tam was one of the biggest surprises of the Vietnam Sports Delegation at that time, forcing the manager of the Vietnam Department of Physical Education and Sports to remove the reasons for this failure. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese sports weightlifting monument Hoang Anh Tuan (who won an Olympic Silver Medal in 2008) has never won a Gold Medal despite having had the opportunity to participate in the SEA Games in his career.
Olympic shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh also suffered consecutive failures at the 29th SEA Games in 2017 and the 30th SEA Games in 2019. Although he won the Gold Medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics (Brazil) in the men's 10m air pistol event, at the 29th and 30th SEA Games, shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh could not win this event. Meanwhile, Olympic goalkeeper Do Thi Anh Nguyet was once a hope, but could not win the Gold Medal at the 31st SEA Games at home.
The Vietnam Department of Physical Education and Sports has built a force of 842 athletes who have officially registered to compete in the 33rd SEA Games, including many young athletes. They have the prospect of developing their achievements to the 20th ASIAD in 2026 and the 2028 Olympics, so they will have the opportunity to participate in the 33rd SEA Games. However, the SEA Games is the first stepping stone and if athletes do not achieve results right here, it will be very difficult to develop in the long term in the future.
