Vietnamese sports are relentlessly striving for excellence.

At the age of 35, competing against younger rivals and pushing herself against her own limitations as her health declined, "walking queen" Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc was eliminated after only about halfway through the women's 20km race. She was among the leading group and full of hope of winning her sixth gold medal, but all her hopes were dashed.

Without the expected second gold medal hat-trick, Thanh Phuc's experience and composure couldn't overcome the barrier of age, despite her meticulous care for her health, especially her attention to nutrition as a professional runner in her late 30s. The SEA Games have officially concluded for this female athlete, always known for her optimism, professionalism, and concern for the next generation of athletes.

Thể thao Việt Nam miệt mài chinh phục - Ảnh 1. — Pham Thanh Bao asserted his absolute dominance in the breaststroke event. (Photo: NGOC LINH)

The disappointment of Thanh Phuc's failure, his younger brother Thanh Ngung's disappointment, or "marathon king" Hoang Nguyen Thanh losing his title for two consecutive Games does not reflect the reality of the athletics team – a team still striving to compete with Thailand and the Philippines to achieve its goal of 12 championships. In the coming days, Vietnamese athletics can still look forward to Nguyen Thi Oanh and other key players setting new records.

Athletics experienced a lull, but many other sports teams are still on a path to success. Having long awaited a SEA Games victory, Trinh Thu Vinh's explosive performance, winning a "double gold" and setting two Games records in one morning, can be seen as a golden moment for the most outstanding female shooter in contemporary Vietnamese shooting.

Having only been involved in shooting for a mere 8 years and a few years competing professionally, Trinh Thu Vinh is demonstrating remarkable progress in her skills and competitive spirit in crucial moments. Her impressive statistics not only reflect Thu Vinh's individual ability but also the result of the serious and scientific training process of the Vietnamese shooting team.

Making a splash in the final sprint of the day to bring home the only gold medal for the swimming team, Pham Thanh Bao truly lived up to his nickname "The Frog Prince". At the 32nd SEA Games, the young man from Vinh Long province won convincingly in the 100m and 200m breaststroke events. Two years later, he continued to defend his title in his two favorite events, helping the Vietnamese swimming team almost complete their target of winning 6 out of 7 gold medals as registered before departure.

From a promising talent from the southwestern region of Vietnam, Pham Thanh Bao has risen to become a new icon of Southeast Asian swimming. Bao is only 24 years old, but perhaps it's time for Vietnamese swimming to focus on nurturing young talents to replace him, just as Tran Van Nguyen Quoc, Mai Tran Tuan Anh, Nguyen Viet Tuong, and Nguyen Thuy Hien have shone throughout this year's Games.

The men's and women's volleyball teams, the men's and women's football teams, and the teams in other team sports have been receiving widespread attention from fans and are still progressing towards the finals, opening up opportunities to conquer the goal of winning gold medals. However, the individual and combat sports have been somewhat quiet in the past few days, causing the Vietnamese sports delegation to lag behind in the overall medal standings, allowing Indonesia to overtake them.

This result is not surprising, as it was anticipated by Vietnamese sports administrators. By maintaining their form and capitalizing on the strengths of traditional sports, Vietnamese athletes can absolutely achieve their goal of finishing in the top 3 at the Games.

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