Vietnam Sports 'bans' gold hunting for SEA Games 33

The Vietnamese sports delegation has entered the most important stage of preparation for the 33rd SEA Games to be held in Thailand this December. This includes reviewing the team and implementing a 'ban' at all national sports training centers (NSTC).

Following the direction of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the leaders of the Vietnam Sports Administration have just directly worked with departments and sport managers to review the preparations of the Vietnam sports delegation for the 33rd SEA Games. In particular, they focused on reviewing the athletes, coaches and delegation officials who will go to Thailand next December.

Coach Truong Minh Sang (left) guides Nguyen Van Khanh Phong in training

PHOTO: NVCC

"SEA Games is a major regional sporting event, of great significance, affirming the position and image of Vietnamese sports. Therefore, units need to promote a sense of responsibility, coordinate closely, and ensure that delegation members are carefully selected," said Mr. Nguyen Danh Hoang Viet, Director of the Vietnam Sports Department.

With that spirit, the leaders of the Department of Sports and Physical Training reminded the departments to review the entire force, select the best athletes through analysis and evaluation of their ability to compete with opponents at the 33rd SEA Games. Regarding the delegation officials, the leaders of the Department of Sports and Physical Training also requested to send the right people, only officials on duty can join the delegation...

Since November 1, the National Sports Training Centers in Hanoi , Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho, where teams are training for the 33rd SEA Games, have also implemented the "ban on camps" regulation. Accordingly, athletes and coaches must eat, stay, practice, and rest at the center and are not allowed to go outside. This has been done before each SEA Games, ASIAD, and Olympic to help athletes and coaches concentrate on improving their skills and maintaining their spirits.

Sports teams actively train internationally

In addition to "training camps" at national sports training centers, some teams also send key athletes to train and compete internationally.

The Vietnamese weightlifting team with 11 athletes chose China as a training location from October 19 to December 8. The Vietnamese athletes won 4 gold medals at the 32nd SEA Games in 2023 and are trying to maintain this achievement at the 33rd SEA Games when facing fierce competition from Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The change in weight categories according to the new regulations of the World Weightlifting Federation also puts Vietnamese weightlifters at a disadvantage because they no longer have their favorite weight category, the men's 55 kg, in which Lai Gia Thanh won a gold medal 2 years ago.

In addition, 10 Vietnamese track and field athletes are also training in Nanning (China) until November 15. This training session includes the reigning SEA Games women's 800m champion Nguyen Thi Thu Ha and potential athlete Bui Thi Ngan. At the 33rd SEA Games, Vietnamese track and field athletes will have the return of Quach Thi Lan. In addition to the 400m hurdles event, Lan is also the main athlete of the Vietnamese women's 4 x 400m relay team. Nanning is also the location where the 15-member Vietnamese swimming team chose to train for the 33rd SEA Games. This is an important change of pace that promises to help Nguyen Huy Hoang, Tran Hung Nguyen, Pham Thanh Bao... get the best feeling of competition for the goal of defending 7 SEA Games gold medals. China is also the place where the Vietnamese table tennis team trained from the beginning of November until the day before leaving for the 33rd SEA Games. Meanwhile, some teams such as taekwondo (women's team), judo, shooting chose Korea as the training place for the 33rd SEA Games. The boxing and kick-boxing teams chose host Thailand as their training place.

The leaders of the Vietnam Sports Administration require departments to closely monitor athletes' training situation and regularly report on international training activities of teams to ensure the best expertise.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/the-thao-viet-nam-cam-trai-san-vang-sea-games-33-185251102212033976.htm