VN willing and able for SEA Games
Viet Nam will send 579 athletes to compete in 32 of 43 sports offered at the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand next month, according to a meeting of the…
Viet Nam will send 579 athletes to compete in 32 of 43 sports offered at the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand next month, according to a meeting of the Viet Nam sports delegation held in Ha Noi last week.
At the meeting, Viet Nam substituted athletes in 11 sports, who have yet to recover from injury or live up to form expectations.
Shooting events will kick off the games on November 27, with football following three days later.
The men”s football team played called up five players including the Top Scorer from the U-21 football tournament, Nguyen Quang Hai and striker Dang Van Thanh.
Wrestler Nguyen Thi Lua, who grappled to a bronze medal in the women”s 46kg division of the Asian Junior Wrestling Championships in Chinese Taipei in August, will replace Asian junior gold medalist Le Thi Trang, who is still nursing a back injury.
Nguyen Duy Chien, Trinh Hai Vuong and Vu Thi Thao, who all performed strongly to push Viet Nam to numero uno at the World Martial Arts Pencak Silat in Malaysia last month, were also recalled for the regions” biggest sporting event next month.
Judoka Nguyen Thi Sau, who broke her shoulder in a training accident was replaced by 17-year-old Nguyen Thi Thu Loan.
All athletes will receive a daily spending allowance of US$18 during the 10-day SEA Games.
A formal send off is scheduled to be held in the capital next Tuesday to cheer on athletes leaving for the SEA Games where around athletes from SEA countries will compete for 473 medal sets in Nakhon Ratchasima Province from December 6-15.
Viet Nam has its eye firmly set on a top three finish in the medal tally, as they did in the previous SEA Games in the Philippines two years ago. The Manila SEA Games saw Viet Nam finish third with 71 gold medals, behind the Philippines and Thailand.
The SEA Games in Thailand this year poses a great challenge for Vietnamese athletes, who will go toe-to-toe with sportsmen and women from 11 regional countries in the province-located 300km from Bangkok.
To reach the set target of a top three finish, Viet Nam will have to claim at least 70 gold medals.
Outstanding athletes were chosen to take part in the games from 32 teams, who train at the National Sports Centres in Ha Noi and HCM City.
Viet Nam finished on top of the medal tally for the first time ever at the 22nd SEA Games in Ha Noi in 2003, where they clinched 155 gold medals
VNS
