Half a million USD for Vietnam baseball dream to catch up with Laos

Two 0-16 defeats against Laos and Thailand show the current position of Vietnamese baseball on the regional map. The team still has 3 matches ahead against the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia. These are all tough opponents. The Philippines is the most recent champion of baseball at the SEA Games (2019) while Indonesia and Singapore are both more experienced than Vietnam in this arena.

Vietnamese baseball is on the way to reintegrating with the region after a 14-year absence. Photo: Minh Chien.

The strength of Vietnamese baseball in the region

Baseball at the 33rd SEA Games has 7 teams, playing a round robin, selecting the top two teams to enter the final and the two teams behind to play for third place. With the current situation, the possibility of the Vietnamese baseball team being in the top 4 to compete for medals is not high.

On the rankings after December 7, the Vietnamese team is only ranked 6th. The last three matches (2 losses, 1 draw) show that Vietnamese baseball is in the lower group of the region, behind Laos and far behind the Philippines or Thailand.

This result is completely reasonable for Vietnamese baseball people because this SEA Games is the first time in 14 years that our team has returned to the regional arena. The Vietnam Baseball and Softball Federation (VBSF) was also just established at the end of 2020, the domestic movement foundation as well as the national team are still very young.

Sharing with Tri Thuc - Znews , VBSF Vice President, Head of the Vietnam Baseball Delegation at the SEA Games Hoang Trung Kien explained: “For a newly completed team like the Vietnam team, international matches like this are extremely useful. Our team will improve with each match, today is not good but tomorrow can be better. The tournament has 6 consecutive matches in 6 days, many matches are not as expected but some will be better”.

In Southeast Asia, baseball has just returned since the 2019 SEA Games. That year’s Games had only 5 teams participating. That number has increased to 7 in this year’s SEA Games. This shows that baseball is still a developing sport in the region, not yet strongly established and popular like football.

The baseball team played 6 qualifying matches at the SEA Games with the goal of gaining experience and learning through each match. Photo: Minh Chien.

$500,000 for a baseball dream

On the eve of the 33rd SEA Games, VBSF announced a record sponsorship contract worth 500,000 USD (more than 13 billion VND ) from a Korean partner. This partner has also been sponsoring Lao baseball for a long time, as an effort by the Koreans to develop the baseball movement in Southeast Asia. The current head coach of the Vietnamese baseball team, Mr. Park Hyo Chul, was also introduced to the Vietnamese team by this partner.

The large investment is expected to raise the level of domestic baseball, a prerequisite for providing personnel for the national team.

Vietnam currently has 18 professional and amateur baseball clubs operating, initially distributed mainly in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi , now with additional teams operating in Da Nang, Hue and Nha Trang. The national championship is organized in a short format every year, with venues alternating between these cities.

Of course, these are just the first steps. Vietnamese baseball still faces many difficulties in development, from fields to people. Vietnam has almost no fields dedicated to baseball, most of them take advantage of football or athletic fields. The Vietnamese baseball team does not have professional athletes like football, the main members are currently students from some universities specializing in sports and adults pursuing other jobs.

However, Mr. Kien believes that this foundation is acceptable in the first years: “Everything is difficult, everyone in the team is playing with passion. But after 4 years of organization, the national tournament has had more clubs, the development opportunities of baseball are seen when there is large sponsorship coming to Vietnam. We hope that after the SEA Games, the team will clearly see its strength and development path. Hopefully in 3 to 5 years, we will be in the group of countries with developed baseball in the region.”

That is probably not a luxury dream if looking at the previous development precedents of Vietnamese sports in basketball or most recently pickleball. Baseball itself possesses many characteristics similar to football, being a team sport, heavily tactical, team-oriented, not particularly demanding on physical fitness, emphasizing technique, and considered suitable for the Vietnamese physique.

In the men's rankings of the International Baseball and Softball Federation, three Asian teams, Japan, Taiwan (China) and South Korea, are in the top 4. Asian school and professional baseball in general, and Japan in particular, are already very famous in popular culture. It is an ideal environment for countries in the same region to develop this sport.

In the world, baseball (along with rugby) is as popular as football. The great baseball team The New York Yankees (USA) is worth more than the number one football club Real Madrid (Spain). Baseball people believe that the space for this sport in Vietnam is therefore very large.

The developments at the 33rd SEA Games over the past few days have shown that. Taking advantage of the U22 team's break, baseball has received a lot of attention from fans. The team still has 3 matches ahead, both to improve their performance, learn lessons, and prepare for the further dreams of Vietnamese baseball both domestically and internationally.

Source: https://znews.vn/nua-trieu-usd-cho-giac-mo-bong-chay-viet-nam-duoi-kip-lao-post1609311.html