At the 33rd SEA Games taking place in Thailand at the end of this year, in your opinion, which sports in Vietnam have the opportunity to achieve high results?
- In fact, Vietnamese sports have made great efforts for many years. At the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore, we took the lead in athletics, swimming, gymnastics, boxing, rowing, weightlifting and other martial arts... But now, to top those sports is not easy.
We are likely to win medals in athletics - a basic Olympic sport, along with traditional sports such as swimming, figure-ups, shooting, weightlifting and martial arts such as karate, wushu, taekwondo...
I believe that the ability of Vietnamese sports to achieve the goal of being in the top 3 SEA Games is feasible, but to win first place is a difficult problem.
The sports industry aims to win 80-100 Gold Medals and be in the top 3 of the whole group. In your opinion, is this goal feasible and what will be the decisive factor?
- The top 3 goal is feasible, even top 2. However, wanting to compete for first place is a difficult problem. A long-standing tradition of Vietnamese sports is that although they won the SEA Games, they did not achieve the same results at the ASIAD.
For example, at the 32nd SEA Games, Vietnamese sports won first overall but at the ASIAD in Hangzhou (China) they only won 3 Gold Medals.
If we consider this an arena for training, we need to focus on winning the above sports. Being at the top of the SEA Games but not having the level to advance in the continent will not bring much value. Therefore, chasing the total rankings is not as important as being at the top of the region in the events of the ASIAD and Olympic systems.
Entertainment- oriented and society-oriented sports have become more popular at the SEA Games, such as e-sports. From the perspective of a manager, do you think how should Vietnamese sports adapt to keep up with this development trend?
- The development of sports and entertainment needs to be calculated. Promoting socialization is the right direction, while investing in those subjects to expand and develop must be built and arranged in a strategy, balancing to know which goals are the main ones. We do not limit this development. However, the country's main resources today must focus on sports that we determine to reach the top of the continent and the world.
The SEA Games are often considered a stepping stone for athletes towards the ASIAD and Olympics, but there are still opinions that the congress is still a " village" nature. In your opinion, what should be changed in the SEA Games to enhance value and escape this prejudice?
- That opinion is formed in practice. The sports level in this area is low and small, so some people consider the SEA Games as a "village". I do not mention the meaning of those two words, but would like to emphasize that the organization and development orientation of the SEA Games is still negative and slow. The rules and regulations of the organization are not strict.
The SEA Games is of interest and the State guarantees the reward regime, but the levels according to Decree 152 need to be adjusted to suit reality. With experience in sports, what positive sign will this adjustment bring?
- Before each major event, the Government always pays attention to improving the regime for athletes, which is very good and has an incentive effect. But the most important thing is still the training process from childhood to adulthood, including scientific and technical care, injury treatment, nutritional regimen, training facilities, good coaching team, international competition funding to accumulate experience...
Those factors determine the performance. Bonus draw is effective but does not bring overall development.
The sports industry has consulted experts on the draft Decree to replace Decree 152, in which the regime levels have changed significantly. When the regime is high, will Vietnamese sports find people with outstanding expertise to improve their achievements?
- The basic thing is the entire training process, from selecting young players to developing top athletes for many years. The current regime has not met the requirements to improve sports performance and needs reform.
The bonus is just the final result of your efforts.During that process, how they are trained and cared for will determine the ability to appear talented athletes.
Thank you!
