Vietnamese sports: Accelerating towards the Olympics

By mid-February, Vietnam had only reached 30% of its minimum target (4 spots), and it took another 30 days to secure one more spot. However, by the end of April, Vietnam had 10 athletes who met the criteria to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics. This rapid progress not only relieved the anxieties of sports administrators who had been weighing on them for months, but also further strengthened fans' belief that the achievements of Vietnamese sports would not stop there.

Looking at the broader Southeast Asian region, Vietnamese sports are still in a state of chasing after their neighbors, with Thailand currently having 40 official Olympic berths, Indonesia 21, Malaysia 18, Singapore 15, and the Philippines 12… However, the fact that 10 athletes have already qualified for the Paris Olympics is a very encouraging sign, and the target of 12-15 berths at the 2024 Olympics is no longer something beyond imagination for Vietnamese sports.

Apart from the taekwondo, gymnastics, archery, and judo teams, which finished their qualifying campaigns without meeting their targets, 8 out of 14 sports that received significant investment – swimming, cycling, shooting, badminton, weightlifting, canoeing, rowing, and boxing – all had members who qualified for the Olympics.

In these eight sports, boxing still hopes to secure more spots as top female boxers such as Nguyen Thi Tam, Ha Thi Linh, and Luu Diem Quynh continue to compete in the second Olympic qualifying round in Thailand from May 22nd to June 2nd. The women's boxing team has just completed a two-week training camp in Kazakhstan and will continue training in Thailand in the coming days before officially competing in the Land of Smiles.

the thao.jpg — The Vietnamese table tennis team and their goal of qualifying for Paris 2024. Photo: VINH TAM

In table tennis, hopes rest on the shoulders of players Dinh Anh Hoang, Nguyen Anh Tu, Mai Hoang My Trang, and Nguyen Khoa Dieu Khanh, who will participate in the Southeast Asian Olympic qualifying round opening on May 5th in Bangkok (Thailand). This is the only chance for Vietnamese table tennis to compete for an official spot at the Paris Olympics.

Having just completed their training camp in Nanning (China), the Vietnamese table tennis team is determined to qualify for the Olympic Games. Only the top two men's and women's champions from this qualifying round will secure a spot in France, and the opportunity is open to 12 male and 9 female players in the region.

This is an extremely challenging goal for Vietnamese players, as they will be competing against top players such as Sanguansin Phakpoom (men's singles runner-up at SEA Games 31), Izaac Quek (men's singles gold medalist at SEA Games 32), Ho Ting (women's singles bronze medalist at SEA Games 31), Zeng Jian (women's singles gold medalist at SEA Games 32), etc.

With impressive performances, winning silver medals in the women's 100m and 200m at the 2024 Asian Junior Athletics Championships, Tran Thi Nhi Yen is highly likely to be selected to participate in the women's 100m at the Paris Olympics. According to regulations, if Vietnam fails to qualify through the official qualifying round, it will receive one wildcard entry in the women's 100m, 800m, or marathon events.

According to the Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper.

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