Supporting Vietnamese sports before the 33rd SEA Games

Motivation from belief in victory

On the morning of November 5, at the Vietnam Sports Administration, the announcement ceremony for the 2025 season of the Victory Cup took place, marking a decade of accompanying the country's sports. Director of the Vietnam Sports Administration Nguyen Danh Hoang Viet affirmed: "Through 8 seasons, the Victory Cup has proven its value, becoming the country's most prestigious sports award - a goal to strive for, a source of inspiration and a great motivation for coaches and athletes every year."

With its professional organization, strong spirit of dissemination and emotional gala ceremony, the Victory Cup has become a special festival of the Vietnamese sports community. The award is not only a worthy recognition but also a symbol of the spirit of dedication, the desire to conquer and the will to overcome of the sports "warriors".

Established in 2015, the Victory Cup is jointly organized by VTVcab, Vietcontent and the Vietnam Sports and Physical Training Department. After 10 years, the award has honored more than 100 outstanding faces, from "legends" such as Anh Vien, Hoang Xuan Vinh, Quach Thi Lan, Do Hung Dung... to young talents reaching regional, continental and world levels. This year's award continues to maintain 11 voting categories, with two strict voting rounds conducted by a panel of experts, journalists and sports experts, to ensure objectivity and worthiness in each nomination.

Director Nguyen Danh Hoang Viet emphasized that the Victory Cup is a typical, lively and effective model of socialized sports, and at the same time a great source of encouragement for Vietnamese sports to reach new heights. “The Victory Cup not only honors but also inspires and encourages today’s generation of athletes to continue the spirit of progress of previous generations,” the Director affirmed.

Director of the Vietnam Sports Administration Nguyen Danh Hoang Viet said that the Vietnamese sports delegation strives to win 80-100 gold medals at the 33rd SEA Games, standing in the top group of participating delegations, determined to achieve the highest ranking, maintain position and achievements in Olympic and ASIAD sports.

A challenging journey

With the momentum from the Victory Cup, the Vietnamese Sports Delegation is entering a period of high concentration for the 33rd SEA Games. With the goal of winning 80-100 gold medals and being in the leading group, the teachers and students of the teams are facing many challenges.

Unlike the 32nd SEA Games, where Vietnam led the overall rankings with 136 gold medals, 105 silver medals, and 114 bronze medals, this edition promises to be more intense, as host Thailand is determined to regain the top spot overall. According to information from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) website, the preliminary registration list for the 33rd SEA Games shows that all countries are sending large forces to this edition. The Thai delegation leads with 1,807 athletes, followed by Malaysia (1,580 athletes), Indonesia (1,548 athletes), Cambodia (1,515 athletes), Philippines (1,499 athletes), Singapore (1,481 athletes), Myanmar (1,077 athletes) and the Vietnamese delegation with more than 1,000 athletes using state and socialized funding. If this list does not change much, there will be 8/11 countries sending 1,000 athletes or more. That shows the great determination of the countries at this 33rd Congress.

In addition to losing about 100 sets of medals in modern and recreational sports such as Horse Racing, Bowling, Hockey... that Vietnam has not had the opportunity to participate in, many of Vietnam's strong events are not included in the competition program, such as Vovinam, Sports Dance, Wushu (Sanshou) or Shooting, causing the medal opportunities to be significantly narrowed.

According to Mr. Hoang Quoc Vinh, Head of High Performance Sports Department 1 (Department of Sports and Physical Training), Thailand is investing heavily in both human resources and facilities, aiming to gain absolute advantage at home. He commented: "The competition at SEA Games 33 will be fierce. To achieve the goal, we need to prepare carefully, in detail, and synchronously from human resources, tactics to competition mentality."

In that context, the launch of the 2025 Victory Cup has a special meaning, not only as an honoring event, but also as a “spiritual doping dose” to support Vietnamese athletes before the challenging journey. Each name announced from the Victory Cup not only recognizes achievements, but also arouses the fighting spirit and the will to overcome difficulties - the values that make up the identity of Vietnamese sports.

From the “Oscar of Vietnamese sports” to the source of encouragement before the SEA Games, the Victory Cup has, is and will continue to spread a strong message: Honoring efforts, inspiring, and fueling the journey of Vietnamese sports to reach regional and world levels. From the Victory Cup to the 33rd SEA Games, the belief in victory is still the thread that extends the aspiration for Vietnamese sports to continue to affirm their position, mettle and Vietnamese spirit in the international arena.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/tiep-suc-cho-the-thao-viet-nam-truoc-them-sea-games-33-179746.html