Parallel transition
At SEA Games 33, athletics showed the calculation and thinking of using forces of the coaches and the Federation. Veteran athlete Nguyen Thi Oanh only participated in 3 distances of 5,000m, 10,000m and 3,000m hurdles, winning all three gold medals.
She proactively did not register her forte in the 1,500m event to create opportunities for her juniors. As a result, athlete Bui Thi Ngan (2001) won a gold medal, while Nguyen Khanh Linh (2006) won a silver medal. Notably, at SEA Games 32, Bui Thi Ngan herself was ranked behind Nguyen Thi Oanh in this event.
In the remaining distances, Nguyen Thi Oanh is not only the one who brought home the gold medal, but also plays a standard role for the next generation. Le Thi Tuyet (2004), with professional support and experience from her senior, won 2 silver medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m.
The women's 400m event also reflects a continuous transition. After Nguyen Thi Huyen closed her career, Nguyen Thi Ngoc (2002) quickly followed suit and won a gold medal at SEA Games 33.
In 7 combined sports, Hoang Thanh Giang (2001) has many years of competing alongside senior Nguyen Linh Na and Bui Thi Thu Thao (especially long jump) at national championships. When Linh Na did not participate in SEA Games 33, Thanh Giang was the only representative of Vietnam and won a silver medal.
Standing side by side with experienced seniors for a long time helps young athletes not to be "shocked" when stepping onto the playground in the central role area.
Women's football also shows a similar shift. Huynh Nhu, Tuyet Dung, Hai Yen gradually shift to the role of spiritual pillars, creating space for the younger generation such as Ngoc Minh Chuyen, Tran Hai Linh, Tran Thi Duyen, Ngan Thi Van Su or Cu Thi Huynh Nhu to develop. The old class has not completely withdrew, but the new class is almost enough time to accumulate international competition experience.
In swimming, after Anh Vien stopped competing, the team did not fall into a prolonged silence. Vo Thi My Tien (2005) won up to 9 medals of all kinds at SEA Games 33, while Nguyen Thuy Hien (2009) continuously made an impression in continental and regional youth tournaments.
Shooting is also a clear example of a generational connection. After closing his peak playing career, coach Tran Quoc Cuong continued to directly train young shooters such as Pham Quang Huy, Trinh Thu Vinh.
At SEA Games 33, Trinh Thu Vinh became the shooter with the best achievements of the Vietnamese sports delegation with 4 gold medals and breaking 3 Games records.
Force depth and rejuvenation strategy
The biggest difference of the current period compared to before lies in the transfer method. Instead of "change blood" immediately, Vietnamese sports is building a continuous inheritance process, where veteran athletes have not completely withdrawn but still compete, guide and create professional standards for the next generation. This helps young athletes shorten the time to accumulate experience and reduce pressure when entering the big playground.
Competing with seniors is only a necessary condition, the sufficient condition lies in the ability to maintain form, competitive bravery and psychological stability of young athletes.
Force depth only works effectively when the training, coaching and competition system is maintained continuously. SEA Games 33 shows positive signs of transition, but this is also just the beginning of a long cycle.
In parallel with the leading role of veteran athletes, the rejuvenation strategy has become an important direction of Vietnamese sports, with the goal of building a strong successor force.
This orientation is concretized by tasks such as increasing investment in key training centers, upgrading facilities and training conditions for young athletes; applying technology, from artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) to data analysis systems to increase training efficiency; promoting sports science and medicine, especially rehabilitation, nutrition and doping prevention according to international standards.
Regarding the rejuvenation strategy, Mr. Nguyen Danh Hoang Viet - Director of the Vietnam Department of Physical Education and Sports once shared with Lao Dong: "Currently, the rejuvenation process of the force in all teams is taking place relatively well and we also have methodical investment strategies for young athletes. However, this also depends on the inherited human resources.
In each sport, each weight class, each event, we must calculate to suit our physical condition. For example, we mainly still focus on lightweight classes in strength events. However, we do not ignore other events. The issue here is how the factor is developed, we focus highly on young athletes to reach higher goals.
