With just over half a month left, the 33rd SEA Games will kick off in Thailand and Vietnamese sports will enter an important preparation stage to protect their top position in the region.
The two recent SEA Games show a clear picture of sports that can bring in large quantities of medals, thereby creating a foundation for new goals in 2025.
At the 31st SEA Games at home, the Vietnamese sports delegation reached a historic milestone with 205 gold medals. Athletics, weightlifting, swimming, diving and wushu are the five sports that contribute the most gold medals.
Just one year later, at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia, despite the decrease in the number of events, Vietnamese sports still won the overall top spot with 136 gold medals.
diving, weightlifting and athletics continue to prove their leading role as each sport brings home over 12 gold medals. This stability creates a basis for the sports industry to put their trust in the 33rd SEA Games.
In athletics, outstanding athletes such as Nguyen Thi Oanh, My Tien, Hoang Thanh Giang, Thu Ha, Trung Cuong, Ngan Ngoc Nghia... are all factors competing for gold medals. Training trips in China or France are a stepping stone for athletes to perfect their expertise and improve their achievements.
Meanwhile, the Vietnamese swimming team entered the 33rd SEA Games with great expectations when possessing the top swimming pool in the region. Notable is Nguyen Huy Hoang, who is holding many SEA Games achievements in the 400m, 800m or 1,500m freestyle events. In addition, Tran Hung Nguyen, Hoang Quy Phuoc, Thanh Bao are also important pillars.
The young force is also very noteworthy with Vo Thi My Tien and the rising talent Nguyen Thuy Hien, who promise to create a breakthrough in short events. With a team that harmoniously combines experience and youth, Vietnamese swimming aims to win 6-8 gold medals and continue to maintain its position in the strength group at the 33rd SEA Games.
The sport has always been a traditional strength of Vietnamese sports and often contributes a large number of gold medals at the SEA Games. With an experienced force combined with a group of young athletes growing up, the national team continues to be considered the fulcrum for achievements at the 33rd SEA Games.
Although opponents such as Thailand or Indonesia have shown clear progress, the Vietnamese national team is still considered superior thanks to its good technical and physical foundation.
Notably, shooting and archery - two sports not appearing at the 32nd SEA Games - will return, opening up opportunities for Vietnamese sports. Trinh Thu Vinh, Pham Quang Huy (shooting) or Anh Nguyet, Quoc Phong (shooting) promise to explode at the upcoming Congress.
For some other sports in the Olympic group, gymnastics and boxing are also sports that can win 3-5 gold medals if they maintain their current form.
However, the journey to conquer the 33rd SEA Games is predicted to be challenging. The host country has invested heavily in their strengths and announced that it wants to reclaim the overall leading position. Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia are also preparing well, promising to create a tense medal race.
A representative of the Vietnam Olympic Committee once emphasized that this year's competition could be more fierce than the two recent SEA Games, because Thailand had prepared a roadmap for the 33rd SEA Games since last year. That requires the Vietnamese teams to make the most efforts during the warm-up period.
