SEA Games 32 full of challenges

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In preparation for the 32nd SEA Games and the 2022 Asian Games (ASIAD 19), the Vietnamese athletics team has gathered since early January 2023 at the National Sports Training Center (NSTC) in Hanoi and the National Sports Training Center in Ho Chi Minh City with 79 athletes. Besides familiar faces such as Nguyen Thi Oanh, Do Quoc Luat, Bui Thi Thu Thao... many new talents of Vietnamese athletics have gathered for the team for the first time, such as: Tran Thi Nhi Yen, Hoang Thi Anh Thuc, Dao Minh Thien... Notably, athlete Le Tu Chinh has returned after nearly a year of resting from competition to treat and recover from an injury. At the 31st SEA Games, the Vietnamese athletics team won 22 gold medals and ranked first overall. Heading towards the 32nd SEA Games, the target of the Vietnamese athletics team is to win from 15 to 17 gold medals, so the pressure to maintain the top position is not small.

The Vietnamese swimming team is currently gathering at the Can Tho National Sports Training Center and some outstanding athletes have left for training in Hungary. Similar to the 31st SEA Games, this time the Vietnamese swimming team is still looking forward to the trio of athletes Nguyen Huy Hoang, Tran Hung Nguyen, and Pham Thanh Bao. Similarly, national teams such as badminton, stick fighting, table tennis, cycling, pencak silat, etc. are also working hard to practice and find their peak form.

In 2023, many national teams will have personnel changes, when foreign coaches and experts have ended their contracts. According to Mr. Ngo Ich Quan, Director of the Department of High Performance Sports II ( General Department of Sports and Physical Training ), in the short term, domestic coaches will lead the teams to prepare for the SEA Games and ASIAD arenas. In the long term, to train a generation of young athletes to succeed their seniors and be capable of competing for medals in major arenas, it is still necessary to find foreign experts so that young athletes can develop better. Hiring foreign experts has always been a problem for Vietnamese sports because the policy mechanism is not suitable. Head coach of the national fencing team Pham Anh Tuan once analyzed with a reporter from the People's Army Newspaper: "With the current remuneration regulations, we can only invite unemployed experts from countries with developed sports".

In preparation for the 32nd SEA Games and the inter-agency tasks, the national teams have gathered at 5 locations, including: Hanoi National Sports Training Center (800 athletes, 160 coaches, 12 experts), Ho Chi Minh City National Sports Training Center (586 athletes, 121 coaches, 2 experts), Da Nang National Sports Training Center (258 athletes, 58 coaches, 2 experts), Can Tho National Sports Training Center (33 athletes, 9 coaches, 1 expert), Bac Ninh University of Physical Education and Sports (47 athletes, 10 coaches). Mr. Hoang Quoc Vinh, Director of the Department of High Performance Sports I (General Department of Sports and Physical Training) said: “Because of national duties, many athletes and coaches of the teams did not have time to rest after the 9th National Sports Festival in 2022 ended but still maintained training at the National Sports Training Centers. Some teams went to compete and train internationally to improve the level of athletes.”

Many difficulties and challenges

At the 32nd SEA Games, the host country Cambodia plans to organize 36 sports with 583 events. The Vietnamese sports delegation is expected to participate in 30 events and 444 events. This is a difficult congress for Vietnamese sports when a series of our strong sports and events are not included in the competition program such as: Rowing, canoeing, shooting, archery, kurash, bodybuilding... In addition, many of Vietnam's strong sports have had their content cut and the number of registered events is limited. Therefore, achieving high results in the sports is very difficult and it is difficult to achieve the number of medals needed to achieve a high ranking like in the 31st SEA Games.

According to Deputy Director General of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training Tran Duc Phan, the 32nd SEA Games will take place from May 5 to May 17 in Cambodia. The goal of Vietnamese sports is to be in the top 3 at the 32nd SEA Games and win 100 gold medals or more. Therefore, immediately after the end of the 9th National Sports Congress in 2022, the sports industry reviewed and re-evaluated the strength of the sports, preparing the best force for the 32nd SEA Games. Mr. Phan said: “The General Department of Sports and Physical Training also requires the National Sports Training Centers to create the best environment for training and living, creating an exciting competitive atmosphere for athletes to practice and prepare for the Games. The difficulties of the Vietnamese Sports Delegation are also common difficulties of the participating countries, so we are determined to strive to overcome ourselves, strive to achieve the highest results, the athletes must also set the highest goal of trying their best for the flag and colors of the Fatherland”.

To help athletes get used to the climate and weather in Cambodia, the General Department of Sports and Physical Training has sent teams to training locations with similar climates such as Ho Chi Minh City or Binh Thuan. Currently, some experts are developing short-term training plans such as the Judo team training in Mongolia for about 20 days, the Taekwondo team training in Korea for about 1 month. The Vietnamese stick fighting team has invited experts from the Philippines to train. Mr. Ngo Ich Quan, Director of the Department of High Performance Sports II (General Department of Sports and Physical Training) said: "This is the preparation stage for ASIAD, Olympic qualifiers and SEA Games 32. Therefore, we have to calculate the distribution of forces to ensure good competition on all fronts. To do so, the coaching staff of the teams must adjust the peak performance of the athletes so that they can complete the assigned tasks."

HUU LE

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