After the 32nd SEA Games, the Southeast Asian Games will undergo a comprehensive reform to keep up with the general development of the world. Deputy Director General of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training Tran Duc Phan had a conversation with Nhan Dan over the weekend about this issue.
- What do you think about Vietnam's goals at SEA Games 32, when many strong events were cut ?
- The reduction of sports and competition content will of course affect our achievements. However, it affects all countries in the region, not just Vietnam. We do not compare the number of gold medals from the previous SEA Games with this one, because it depends on the number of sports and competition content. However, according to preliminary calculations, we may lose about 50 gold medals. But I emphasize, that is only an estimate.
- At this time, is the position on the rankings still really important, and should the achievement index at the SEA Games be considered a measure to evaluate the development level of the country's sports, sir ?
- Vietnamese athletes participating in the 32nd SEA Games are expected to win more than 300 medals of all kinds, including 90-120 gold medals. If they can do this, the Vietnamese Sports Delegation will be in the Top 3. If they are less, it will be very difficult. Anyway, I think we should not use the SEA Games as a measure, because we are focusing on the ASIAD.
- Is the SEA Games also preparing for important changes, sir ?
- From the 33rd SEA Games held in Thailand in 2025, regional sports will apply completely new and groundbreaking principles.
Accordingly, the host countries must comply with the regulations on organizing Olympic sports, regulations on the number of sports of ASIAD, and especially the regulations on the number of sports in group three, i.e. regional sports. The traditional sports of each host country will not exceed two sports and no more than eight events. This is a breakthrough regulation, helping to break down subjective factors and ensure more objectivity.
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| The Vietnamese weightlifting team has the potential to win gold at the 19th ASIAD. Photo: My Ha |
- From personal experiences drawn from many years of work, in your opinion, what is the biggest challenge to the goal of reaching the level of national sports ?
- Personally, I think the above change is beyond expectations. I have always suggested that all Olympic sports should be held at each SEA Games. Of course, this change also has many challenges. For example, if Timor Leste were to host, it would be difficult to implement all sports.
However, the members of the Southeast Asian Council all realized that if we continue to organize the SEA Games as they are now, it will be difficult for countries, especially those with developed sports, with achievements approaching the ASIAD and the Olympics. If we continue to organize the Games like this, we will not be able to ensure the overall quality of sports in the region is raised.
For national sports, from now on, we have directed teams, coaches and athletes to have "two-in-one" preparation. The strategy is expected to be submitted to the Government for approval.
Currently, the SEA Games playground is suitable for Vietnam, which means we can train, compete, invest and win medals. However, solutions related to improving the achievements of our country's sports in major arenas (such as ASIAD or Olympics) are extremely important tasks. We carry out many tasks in parallel, but the focus in the coming time must be ASIAD.
To put it simply, in the cycle of Vietnamese sports, our main goal is the ASIAD playground and striving for the Olympics, while the SEA Games is a regular task.
- So what specific plans does Vietnamese Sports have to train key athletes for the ASIAD and Olympics ?
- In my opinion, at the 19th ASIAD taking place in China this September, with the current strength of Vietnam, we will hardly be able to achieve high results. Therefore, we need to develop a specific plan and try our best at each stage. Through practical work over the past years, we can absolutely win 10, even more than 10 ASIAD gold medals. The necessary condition here is to ensure training, competition, experts, nutrition, etc. for key national athletes.
Currently, the infrastructure of Vietnamese sports is still limited. Even the national sports training centers do not have much investment, and have not solved the basic problems, aiming for good and stable results in the top arenas such as ASIAD or Olympics.
Thank you sir !
( According to nhandan.vn )
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