SEA Games 33 and the expectation of generational transfer of Vietnamese sports

The pillars step to the other side of the slope

SEA Games 33 continues to witness the presence of veteran athletes. In table tennis, Mai Hoang My Trang is nearly 40 years old but is still awarded a place to participate in the Games thanks to her stable performance and extensive experience. For her, each tournament at this stage is both a responsibility and a preparation for her future training journey.

Not only table tennis, many senior athletes in other sports also watch the 33rd SEA Games such as Nguyen Tien Nhat (fencing), Ha Thi Linh (boxing), Dinh Phuong Thanh (gymnastics) or Duong Thuy Vi (wushu) are typical names. They have all contributed to creating a series of achievements for the Vietnamese sports delegation in many congresses, at the same time still playing an important role in leading the younger generation.

Dinh Phuong Thanh is a veteran athlete of the Vietnamese gymnastics team, having participated in many SEA Games. Photo: Minh Dan

In wushu, Duong Thuy Vi continues to be a role model for her juniors in terms of professionalism and discipline. Meanwhile, Dinh Phuong Thanh still maintains a serious preparation process before each tournament. The experience accumulated over many years by this group of athletes is considered by the coaches of the teams as a "valuable asset", especially in the context of the young force in the process of maturing.

Vietnamese sports have witnessed many senior athletes achieving high results such as shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh or Tran Quoc Cuong - who won SEA Games gold medals when they were over 40 years old, showing the value of perseverance and bravery in battle.

My Trang attends SEA Games 33 at the age of 38. Photo: Nam Hai

After the 32nd SEA Games, the 19th ASIAD and the 2024 Olympics, the sports industry also held many professional meetings to adjust investment strategies. The common point was that the young force must be prioritized for development, but the role of the experienced group in the transition process cannot be ignored.

"New golden generation" of Vietnamese sports

Along with the leading role of veteran athletes, the rejuvenation strategy has become an important orientation 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 science - sports medicine, especially recovery, nutrition and anti-doping according to international standards.

These changes create conditions for a generation of young athletes to break through, including many faces expected to shine at the 33rd SEA Games.

Thanh Giang shows remarkable progress. Photo: Minh Dan

The athletics department recorded the remarkable progress of Hoang Thanh Giang (2001) in the heptathlon. Since the national gold medal milestone in 2023, she has continuously improved her score and reached 5,481 points at the national championship in 2025, surpassing the gold medal score at the 32nd SEA Games.

With remarkable development in recent times, Hoang Thanh Giang is one of the biggest hopes of Vietnamese athletics at the upcoming Congress.

Meanwhile, Duong Thi Thao (2006) also made a professional mark in the high jump. Her achievement of 1m84 at the 2025 national tournament far exceeded the gold medal mark at the most recent SEA Games, showing that she is on the right track and is fully capable of competing for the medal group.

Thuy Hien is a promising young talent of the Vietnamese swimming team. Photo: Minh Dan

In the Vietnamese swimming team, Nguyen Thuy Hien (2009) is one of the brightest talents. In the past two years, she has won 7 Southeast Asian youth gold medals and broken 4 age group records, becoming a key investment face and a great hope in the process of finding the next generation after Anh Vien.

Table tennis witnessed the growth of Tran Mai Ngoc - who, together with Dinh Anh Hoang, brought home the historic mixed doubles gold medal at the 32nd SEA Games. The consecutive successes at the national tournament and the championship title of the 2025 excellent racket tournament prove that Mai Ngoc is being comprehensively invested in, on the right track and ready to compete with seniors like Mai Hoang My Trang.

In wushu, Dang Tran Phuong Nhi (2004) - the 2023 world champion is a notable name. Her stable performance helps her become one of the young faces capable of competing for a gold medal at the 33rd SEA Games.

Sharing about the rejuvenation strategy, Director of the Vietnam Sports Department - Nguyen Danh Hoang Viet said: "Currently, the rejuvenation process of all teams is going relatively well and we also have systematic investment strategies for young athletes. However, this also depends on the successor human resources.

In each sport, each weight class, each event, we have to calculate to suit our physical condition. For example, we still mainly focus on the light weight classes in the strong events. However, we do not ignore other events. The issue here is how the factors are developed, we focus highly on young athletes to reach higher goals."

Source: https://laodong.vn/the-thao/sea-games-33-va-ky-vong-chuyen-giao-the-he-cua-the-thao-viet-nam-1620120.ldo