Table tennis determined to protect the "gold vein"

VHO - The 2025 National Table Tennis Tournament for Strong Teams, which just ended in Phu Tho, has brought many positive signals to Vietnamese table tennis. At the end of the tournament, the CAND T&T team excellently won the overall title with 3 gold medals, 3 silver medals, 3 bronze medals, in which the outstanding player Dinh Anh Hoang with 3 gold medals and 1 silver medal. In addition, familiar faces such as Le Dinh Duc, Mai Ngoc, and My Trang also shone, affirming the stable strength of Vietnamese table tennis. These results are an important stepping stone for the national team to aim for the highest goal at the 33rd SEA Games.

Tennis player Dinh Anh Hoang is in stable form.

Efforts to maintain the "golden chain"

In the last 4 consecutive SEA Games, Vietnamese table tennis has won gold medals, creating the most impressive series of achievements in history. Starting from the miracle at the 2017 SEA Games, when the men's team excelled over the "monument" Singapore to win the team gold medal, until the most recent SEA Games, the pair Dinh Anh Hoang - Tran Mai Ngoc brought home the gold medal in the mixed doubles, affirming the position of Vietnamese table tennis in the region. "We are determined to win the gold medal for the 5th consecutive time, bringing good news to the fans", Mr. Phan Anh Tuan, Head of table tennis, Vietnam Sports Department emphasized.

According to the plan, right after completing major domestic tournaments such as the national championship and the strong team tournament, the national table tennis team will officially focus on the SEA Games 33 campaign. Mr. Phan Anh Tuan also said that the department will closely coordinate with the Federation, the Professional Board, and the team's coaching board to propose the strongest force to compete at the SEA Games 33. The list of selected athletes is based on the results of prestigious tournaments such as the national championship, the strong team tournament, the excellent player tournament, and the youth tournament.

In the men's team, the prominent faces include Nguyen Anh Tu (Hanoi), Dinh Anh Hoang, Le Dinh Duc (CAND T&T), Nguyen Duc Tuan, Doan Ba ​​Tuan Anh (Hai Phong). In the women's team, the typical names are Nguyen Khoa Dieu Khanh (HCMC), Tran Mai Ngoc (CAND T&T), Bui Ngoc Lan (Hai Phong), Nguyen Thi Nga (Hanoi) and seniors My Trang (HCMC) and Lam Thu Cuc (Army). Not only stopping at selecting the force, the professional units also prepare for the team to train in China for about a month. This is the world's number 1 country in table tennis, where Vietnamese players will be able to compete and learn from top opponents, and at the same time can participate in the China Open - a quality tournament that helps athletes accumulate valuable experience.

Faith in the new generation

SEA Games 33 is expected to have 7 table tennis events, promising fierce competition. At the 2024 Southeast Asian Championship, Malaysia had an absolute advantage when winning 4/7 gold medals, Singapore kept the men's singles gold medal, Vietnam won the women's singles gold medal thanks to Nguyen Khoa Dieu Khanh, and Thailand won the men's doubles gold medal. This shows the even strength of the countries in the region and predicts the fierceness of the upcoming Games. "The opponents are all heavily invested, have many training trips and international competitions. If we prepare well and are determined, we can still win gold medals. In fact, Vietnamese table tennis is always a formidable opponent in the eyes of regional friends," Mr. Phan Anh Tuan shared.

Among the current tennis players, Dinh Anh Hoang is the number one hope. He is the reigning national champion, having just won 3 gold medals and 1 silver medal at the Strong Teams Tournament, before that he won a hat trick of gold medals at the National Championship (men's singles, men's doubles, men's team). Anh Hoang's progress has been highly appreciated by many veteran coaches. Coach Vu Manh Cuong commented: "Anh Hoang has quick reflexes, executes tactical instructions well, and is increasingly mature in terms of expertise and competitive spirit. If he maintains his professionalism, he will go even further."

Besides Anh Hoang, Mai Ngoc's stability, My Trang's bravery and Dieu Khanh's rise also bring confidence to fans. In the doubles category, the Anh Hoang - Dinh Duc pair is considered the strongest in the country, while the mixed pair Anh Hoang - Mai Ngoc continues to be expected to become the "trump card" of the Vietnamese table tennis team at the SEA Games. Coach Vu Manh Cuong emphasized that after 26 years of waiting, the Anh Hoang - Mai Ngoc pair won the gold medal in the mixed doubles at the 32nd SEA Games.

At the upcoming SEA Games, we still have to be careful with players from Thailand and Singapore. The good news, according to this coach, is that Dinh Anh Hoang has made more progress than before and Mai Ngoc is also very stable, so this pair still has the ability to bring home gold medals for Vietnamese table tennis. The achievements at the 2025 National Strong Team Table Tennis Tournament have created great motivation for the national team to enter the journey of preparation for the 33rd SEA Games. With the brilliance of stars like Dinh Anh Hoang, Mai Ngoc, My Trang and the high determination of the whole team, Vietnamese table tennis has a basis to believe in defending the "golden streak" - the 5th consecutive gold medal at the Southeast Asian Games.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/bong-ban-quyet-tam-bao-ve-mach-vang-171595.html