Challenges ahead for Vietnam wrestling team

At many Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), the Vietnamese wrestling team has always been the "gold mine" of the country's sports.

Vietnamese wrestling team athletes compete at SEA Games 31.

In the upcoming 33rd SEA Games, wrestling is still the “golden” hope despite facing many challenges, especially the host country Thailand. The Vietnamese wrestling team needs to make adjustments, adapt and surpass itself to protect its position.

In the last two SEA Games, the Vietnamese wrestling team has achieved impressive results: 17 gold medals at SEA Games 31 and 13 gold medals at SEA Games 32. However, entering SEA Games 33, the target set by the team is only 5-6 gold medals - a modest number compared to the long list of achievements of Vietnamese wrestling in the region.

New forces and expectations

Mr. Ta Dinh Duc, in charge of wrestling, Vietnam Sports Department, General Secretary of Vietnam Wrestling Federation, said that the main reason comes from the 33rd SEA Games Organizing Committee cutting the number of wrestling events from 30 to 12. Although still organizing 3 events: men's freestyle wrestling, men's classical wrestling and women's freestyle wrestling, each event only has four weight categories, each country is only allowed to send one athlete to participate in each weight category. Not only is the scale reduced, the absence of two traditional strong weight categories of Vietnamese women's wrestling, 50 kg and 53 kg, seriously affects the team's ability to win medals.

The challenge for the Vietnamese wrestling team is that many veteran wrestlers have retired or stepped back into the background, giving way to young wrestlers who lack international competition experience.

The challenge for the Vietnamese wrestling team is that many veteran wrestlers have retired or stepped back into the background, giving way to young wrestlers who lack international competition experience.

The coaching staff has planned a rigorous training program to prepare for the 33rd SEA Games. The first phase was implemented from the beginning of 2025 and currently, from July 15, the national wrestling team has entered the second training phase at the National Sports Training Center in Hanoi . Mr. Ta Dinh Duc added that the review of the force is not only to find athletes with good technical skills but also to evaluate psychological factors, competitive spirit and tactical coordination ability.

Increase in-depth investment

Not only training domestically, the Vietnamese wrestling team is implementing long-term steps to increase its chances of competing at the 33rd SEA Games and further into the 2028 Olympics. One of the key solutions is to invite foreign experts to train, first of all for the women's freestyle wrestling event. A good American expert is being negotiated to help improve tactics, fitness and modern competition skills. Along with that, the Department of Sports and Physical Training and the Vietnam Wrestling Federation are also looking for funding to send excellent athletes to train and compete abroad, instead of just focusing on training domestically as before. Another notable strategy is to target beach wrestling, an event that is developing and expected to appear in the upcoming Olympics.

Preparing for the 33rd SEA Games, with the right investment, discipline in training and long-term development strategy, the Vietnamese wrestling team is determined to defend its position and continue to write a new chapter in the golden journey of the country's sports in the regional arena.

Although the target is only to win at least 5-6 gold medals, the road is not smooth, the Vietnamese wrestling team is forced to adapt to new regulations, restructure its forces and still maintain its desire to win. Deputy Director of the Vietnam Sports Administration Nguyen Hong Minh said that there is currently no official list of athletes for the 33rd SEA Games. The deadline to register with the Thai host organizing committee is September, so the time from now until then is the key period to check, evaluate and finalize the lineup. The representative of the wrestling team's coaching staff also admitted that cutting down the weight categories, which are the strengths of Vietnamese wrestling, will make the opportunity to win medals difficult. However, with a cautious and methodical approach, combining experience, professional strategy and increased internationalization, the Vietnamese wrestling team has every reason to expect an impressive SEA Games.

Preparing for the 33rd SEA Games, with the right investment, discipline in training and long-term development strategy, the Vietnamese wrestling team is determined to defend its position and continue to write a new chapter in the golden journey of the country's sports in the regional arena.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/the-thao/thach-thuc-phia-truoc-cua-doi-tuyen-vat-viet-nam-9dLDcalNg.html