The final stage of preparing for the SEA Games
The Vietnamese gymnastics team has entered the final preparation stage for the 33rd SEA Games. This year, the team has no plans to train abroad, the entire training process will take place domestically.
With the support of the Department of Physical Education and Sports, the department and the Vietnam Physical Education Federation, equipment is fully invested, training conditions are guaranteed for athletes to maintain their form and fitness.
According to coach Truong Minh Sang, the team has been planned to practice and compete throughout the year. In which, athletes will participate in a number of major international tournaments such as the World Cup, the Asian Championship and the 2025 World Championship. These are important opportunities for athletes to check their expertise, accumulate experience and train the competitive mentality.
"In each stage, athletes must have about 3-4 suitable tournaments. Sometimes athletes compete a lot to rub shoulders, sometimes they have to reduce the frequency to recover and increase the difficulty of the test. The goal is to maintain physical strength and achieve the best technical stability before the SEA Games," said coach Minh Sang.
The performance of the Vietnamese gymnastics team at this year's international tournaments has improved. Athletes such as Nguyen Van Khanh Phong, Dinh Phuong Thanh and Dang Ngoc Xuan Thien showed stable performance.
Coach Truong Minh Sang acknowledged that Vietnam's gymnastics has moved closer to the level of strong countries. However, the gap in fitness and stability is still clear. These are factors that need to be improved in the coming time. However, the team is confident that it will achieve the goal in the region.
Expectations for achievements
At the 33rd SEA Games, the goal of gymnastics is to win at least 2 gold medals. This target is considered suitable for the competition context and the change in the regulations this year.
According to the new regulations, the organizing committee will eliminate the two comprehensive and teamwork events - the strength of Vietnamese men's gymnastics. Instead, focus on individual events (single events), each athlete can participate in a maximum of 3 events and enter the finals in 2 events.
This change has definitely affected the competition plan, but the Vietnamese team still has an adaptation direction.
Coach Truong Minh Sang said: On a personal level, male athletes are not affected much because we focus on high-level events such as thoroughbreds and hanging bridges. In addition, double saws and single saws are also two events that can compete for medals.
The men's team participating in the 33rd SEA Games includes 4 athletes: Nguyen Van Khanh Phong, Dinh Phuong Thanh, Dang Ngoc Xuan Thien and Trinh Hai Khang.
Compared to previous tournaments, the number of athletes has decreased due to changes in regulations, but this helps them have more time to focus deeply on each individual event. The entries are adjusted to achieve higher difficulty and optimize individual performance.
In the women's event, the team has high expectations for player Nguyen Thi Quynh Nhu. She is a young face who has initially affirmed her ability in the Asian arena. The coaching staff assessed that Quynh Nhu is capable of competing for medals in some major events, opening up opportunities for Vietnamese women's gymnastics to win gold medals.
In the last 3 Games, Vietnamese gymnastics has maintained a high performance with 3 SEA Games gold medals 30, 4 SEA Games 31 gold medals and 4 SEA Games 32 gold medals. All of them are for men.
According to the plan, athletes will maintain a high intensity of training until the time of competition. In this phase, the team prioritizes perfecting techniques, strengthening physical strength and training psychology. The coaching staff believes that the mental factor will play an important role because individual events require absolute concentration in a short time.
"The spirit of the coaches and athletes is very good. We are ready to enter the SEA Games with the determination to achieve our goals. Although there are many challenges, the whole team believes in their preparation," said coach Minh Sang.
