For a clean sports background
Doping is not just a story about a banned substance in competition. It is also a matter of fairness, sports ethics and the long-term health of athletes. In front of major arenas, Vietnamese sports are strengthening inspection, education and completing the anti-doping system to move towards a transparent and professional sports nền.
For Vietnamese sports, the lesson from SEA Games 31 is still valuable. At that time, 5 track and field athletes were found to be positive for doping. The incident not only affected achievements but also posed an urgent requirement to raise awareness and strictly control the use of drugs and supplements in the sports environment.
It is noteworthy that many violations do not originate from intentional fraud, but come from lack of understanding about the ingredients in functional foods or self-medicating without consulting medical experts.
According to Mr. Le Minh Ha - Director of the Center for Doping and Sports Medicine of Vietnam, doping prevention and control is not only the management of samples but also a comprehensive education process. He emphasized that doping can bring temporary advantages, but long-term consequences can affect the health, even the lives of athletes.
Preserving the image of Vietnamese sports
Before the ASIAD 20 taking place in Aichi-Nagoya (Japan), Vietnamese sports completed the collection of 70 doping test samples for athletes preparing to participate in the Games. All samples were taken according to procedures, meeting the requirements of the Organizing Committee.
Athletes are selected for random tests, in which priority is given to sports that are assessed to be at high risk related to the use of banned substances. According to regulations, ASIAD athletes must undergo at least one doping test outside of competition within 6 months before the Games; for high-risk sports, the minimum number of tests is increased.
Along with taking samples for testing, education work is also being implemented in parallel. Coaches and athletes are trained on doping prevention and control regulations, reporting accommodation information on the ADAMS system of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and updating the list of new banned substances.
This is an important shift in doping prevention thinking: not waiting for violations to occur before handling them, but building preventive barriers from before. After the incident at SEA Games 31, many athletes who had committed violations had to go through difficult times when they were banned from competition. But that process has also become a lesson for them to mature more in their awareness of professional responsibility.
From March 2026, the Vietnam Anti-Doping Center (VADA) will implement communication and pre-competition doping education for athletes. The courses are implemented according to WADA regulations, in which athletes must complete a doping prevention certificate to be eligible to participate in the X-2026 National Sports Games.
Vietnamese sports aim for professional development and international integration. Anti-doping is an important factor in protecting the country's sports achievements and image.
