Lack of stability
At the ASIAD and Olympic arenas in recent times, Vietnamese sports have not achieved the expected goals in terms of both achievements and expertise.
The last time Vietnamese sports won an Olympic gold medal was in 2016 in shooting. At the ASIAD arena, the last time Vietnam won a gold medal was the 2023 tournament held in Hangzhou - China in shooting, cloud football and karate.
According to the report of the sports industry, the results at the Olympics and ASIAD are unstable, and the number of athletes participating is not guaranteed. The reason comes from the lack of top-level international tournaments for athletes, limiting the opportunity to compete and accumulate points.
In addition, training facilities are still lacking and do not meet standards, many athletes have to train abroad at high costs. In addition, the treatment policy and regimes for athletes are not attractive enough, making it difficult to retain talent.
It is undeniable that Vietnam's high-performance sports have been accumulating many achievements, but it is necessary to improve stability in the international arena, upgrade facilities and expand the tournament system.
According to the representative of the High Performance Sports Department (Vietnam Department of Physical Training and Sports), one of the core factors that need to be achieved at this time is a synchronous, long-term development strategy, focusing on Olympic and ASIAD sports.
At the same time, it is necessary to invest systematically in key sports that can compete for medals in continental and world competitions. At the same time, the quality of athlete selection and training must ensure inheritance between generations.
What is the solution?
In the Strategy for the development of physical education and sports in Vietnam to 2030, with a vision to 2045, approved by the Government and effective from October 15, 2024, the goal set for high-performance sports in Vietnam is to strive to achieve from 5 to 7 gold medals at the ASIAD, with medals at the Olympics and Paralympics.
This is a big challenge, requiring Vietnamese sports to develop synchronously and comprehensively, especially identifying and investing in key sports.
According to the Program for developing key sports of the Vietnam Department of Physical Education and Sports, some important tasks in the coming period are planning and grouping sports to invest in focus and key points; researching, developing and perfecting a specific policy system for high-performance sports or developing and applying science, technology, sports medicine in coaching work...
In the immediate future, the sports industry has preliminarily selected 17 key sports, including the Olympic medal competition group (shooting, archery, weightlifting, badminton, taekwondo, boxing, boxing, fencing, boat racing and the ASIAD medal competition group (athletics, judo, karate, wushu, gymnastics, weightlifting, swimming, cloud sports, cycling).
Regarding solutions, Vietnamese sports will soon invest in infrastructure and resources, including mobilizing central and local budgets and social resources to modernize the training system; building specialized training centers as well as developing the Olympic Athletes Training Center at My Dinh Sports Complex.
In addition, aiming to train athletes and coaches in countries with strengths (China, the US, Japan, etc.); invite good experts to provide long-term training for 17 key sports. In particular, there must be professional solutions for each key sport, including shooting, swimming, athletics, weightlifting, karate, wushu...
In particular, the application of science and technology in athlete selection and training is also very important.
According to Mr. Hoang Quoc Vinh - Head of the High Performance Sports Department, in the coming time, the sports industry will also propose to develop policies to support athletes and coaches; increase salary and bonus regimes for athletes with high achievements; improve employment policies after athletes retire, or exempt taxes and provide financial support for businesses investing in sports.
