Vietnamese athletics faces difficulties.

Tran Thi Nhi Yen, a highly anticipated figure in the women's speed event, has requested to withdraw from competition to focus on her studies.

This decision has put Vietnamese athletics in a precarious situation ahead of the 33rd SEA Games.

Persistent injuries

According to her coaches, persistent injuries are partly to blame for Nhi Yen's inability to maintain her high performance level. At the 2025 Ho Chi Minh City Thong Nhat Speed ​​Cup, she only achieved 11.81 seconds in the 100m – far below her 11.51 seconds from the previous season and even below her 11.75 seconds, which earned her a bronze medal at the 32nd SEA Games.

At the recent 2025 National Championships in Da Nang City, Nhi Yen also failed to win a gold medal, losing to her senior teammate Ha Thi Thu in both the 100m and 200m women's events. This further narrows Nhi Yen's chances of establishing her role in the national team.

Nhi Yen (left) competing at the 2025 National Championship. (Photo: HONG LINH)

Nhi Yến's career, though short, left a lasting impression. Born in 2005 in Long An (now part of Tay Ninh province), she began pursuing athletics at the end of 11th grade. She quickly established her talent with a gold medal at the 2022 National Youth Championships, followed by a double medal win at the National Sports Games.

In 2023, Nhi Yen became a sensation by dominating short-distance events domestically, setting two national youth records, and winning one silver and one bronze medal at the 32nd SEA Games. In 2024, she won a silver medal at the Asian U20 Championships, and in 2025 she continued to win a bronze medal in the women's 100m at the Asian Championships.

Those achievements led to expectations that Nhi Yen would inherit the role of her senior, Le Tu Chinh, in the speed racing world. However, injuries combined with a new academic focus caused her career to end prematurely.

Filling the gap

Nhi Yen's withdrawal has left a significant void. In the Southeast Asian arena, the reigning champion Shanti Pereira (Singapore) still dominates with times of 11.41 seconds in the 100m and 22.69 seconds in the 200m – a considerable lead over the Vietnamese athletes.

Experts believe that Vietnamese women's athletics will find it difficult to win gold medals in speed events in the short term. A realistic goal is simply to maintain medal-winning performance while preparing for a new generation. At the recent national championships, besides Ha Thi Thu, the only other potential contenders were Nhi Yen and Le Thi Cam Tu (19 years old).

According to the Vietnam Athletics Development Plan until 2030, the sports sector will focus on training more than 2,200 athletes at the talent, youth, and national team levels. Vietnamese athletics aims to win medals at the 20th Asian Games in 2026 and the 21st Asian Games in 2030.

Nhi Yen's retirement from athletics at the young age of 20 is a great loss, but it also reflects the difficult reality of speed events. Vietnamese athletics will have to work harder to fill the void and create a new generation of athletes capable of competing in the region.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/dien-kinh-viet-nam-gap-kho-196250921210503473.htm