New challenges for Vietnamese athletics

In the middle of last week, the Vietnamese athletics team ended their competition at the 2025 Thailand International Athletics Championships with a Silver Medal in the women's heptathlon by athlete Ngo Thi My Duyen on the final day of competition.

In total, the Vietnamese delegation won 4 Gold Medals and 6 Silver Medals, of which 3/4 Gold Medals belonged to the middle and long distance running events - the long-standing advantage of Vietnamese athletics in the Southeast Asian region.

Before the above tournament, Vietnamese track and field athletes participated in a number of international tournaments in Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore... thereby accumulating experience and improving their performance in the journey towards important upcoming tournaments, first of all the 33rd SEA Games which will take place at the end of this year. These warm-up tournaments not only help the coaching staff evaluate the athletes' performance but also determine the team composition and have a clearer view of the opponents at the upcoming SEA Games.

Overall, so far, Vietnamese athletics has been able to determine the lineup for some relay events, especially in the women's 4x400m event when "queen" Nguyen Thi Huyen has retired from competition. The Silver Medal that the women's relay team won at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships shows the potential of the athletes but also helps the coaching staff have a more realistic view because the competitors in Asia have made great strides. Some promising faces are showing good form such as speed runner Tran Thi Nhi Yen (bronze medal in women's 100m at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships), Hoang Thi Ngoc Anh (won 2 gold medals in the 5,000m and 3,000m hurdles at the 2025 Thailand International Athletics Championships), Nguyen Khanh Linh (gold medal in women's 1,500m at the 2025 Thailand International Athletics Championships)... However, there are also athletes who are not performing as expected, facing great competition from athletes from some Southeast Asian countries such as Quach Thi Lan (specialty distance 400m, 400m hurdles), Ta Ngoc Tuong (men's 400m), Huynh Thi My Tien (women's 100m hurdles)...

Vietnamese athletics is actively preparing for the 33rd SEA Games in the context of a generational transition in some traditionally advantageous events; regional competitors are making significant progress, and some countries are strengthening their forces with high-quality naturalized athletes. Without proper investment in training, support for athletes to train abroad, and identification of good performance points, it will be very difficult for us to return to the No. 1 position in athletics at the upcoming 33rd SEA Games.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/thach-thuc-moi-cua-dien-kinh-viet-nam-708094.html