To make the SEA Games giant not dwarf at ASIAD

Vietnamese sports are considered a giant in the SEA Games but are just a tiny boy in the ASIAD arena. Therefore, it is necessary to have the right investment orientation to escape this paradox.

Modest achievements

At the 32nd SEA Games held in May 2023 in Cambodia, the Vietnamese sports delegation won 136 gold medals, 105 silver medals, and 114 bronze medals, ranking first in Southeast Asia. A year earlier at the 31st SEA Games at home, Vietnam set a record by winning 205 gold medals, 125 silver medals, and 116 bronze medals. However, at the 19th ASIAD, Vietnam only won 3 gold medals, 5 silver medals, and 19 bronze medals, ranking 21st in the continent. This achievement is at the level of completing the initial target of winning 2-5 gold medals. However, Mr. Nguyen Hong Minh, former Director of the Department of High Performance Sports of the Sports and Physical Training Committee (now the Department of Sports and Physical Training), assessed that it was a great effort but not commensurate with the potential.

Để người khổng lồ SEA Games không tí hon ở ASIAD - Ảnh 1. — Vietnam women's 4 x 400m running team won gold medal at 2023 Asian Athletics Championship but left empty-handed at ASIAD 19

Compared to the achievements of other countries in the Southeast Asian region at the 19th ASIAD, the Vietnamese sports delegation is still very modest, ranking only 6th after Thailand (12 gold medals, 14 silver medals, 32 bronze medals), Indonesia (7 gold medals, 11 silver medals, 18 bronze medals), Malaysia (6 gold medals, 8 silver medals, 18 bronze medals), the Philippines (4 gold medals, 2 silver medals, 12 bronze medals), Singapore (3 gold medals, 6 silver medals, 7 bronze medals). A series of SEA Games champions, even Asian champions of Vietnam, when competing in the ASIAD arena, all stopped early.

"It is also necessary to see that ASIAD is a fiercely competitive arena with many Olympic champions and world champions in many sports such as badminton, weightlifting, archery, karate, shooting, gymnastics, table tennis... Therefore, I really admire the spirit, will, and appreciate the efforts and sweat that Vietnamese athletes have put in. Among them, we have very proud achievements in shooting, karate, sepak takraw, gymnastics, and rowing," said Mr. Nguyen Hong Minh.

Pham Quang Huy won gold medal in shooting

Director of the Department of Sports and Physical Training Dang Ha Viet regretted: "Compared to the maximum target of winning 5 gold medals initially set, we have completed more than 50%, but the delegation has met the minimum target. However, I still feel very sorry that we could have done better when many competitions of some teams could not complete their goals. I feel very sorry when Nguyen Thi That in cycling was injured before the 19th ASIAD. She tried very hard to compete and compete for the gold medal but was unable to do so. My second regret is in boxing. Many athletes, for various reasons, have not been able to show their full potential, in which Nguyen Thi Tam did not compete as expected due to injury. Even in shooting, in addition to Quang Huy's unexpected gold medal, the two hopes Trinh Thu Vinh and Ha Minh Thanh both performed below expectations. The mixed team chess event was highly anticipated, but in the final match we did not play at our best, so we only won the silver medal".

What goes around comes around.

Looking back at the achievements of Vietnamese sports in the ASIAD arena so far, Mr. Nguyen Hong Minh said that we have made progress but it is not stable. The key still lies in the investment strategy and the low budget for sports.

If we rely on the state budget, we will never be able to meet the needs of training and improving the level of athletes. To have enough money to invest, we need to do a good job of socializing sports.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Minh, former Director of the Department of High Performance Sports, Sports Committee (now the Department of Sports and Physical Training)

"Thailand has strengths in taekwondo thanks to key investments, reaping success not only at the ASIAD but also at the Olympics. They also made a breakthrough with 2 gold medals in golf, and also brought the traditional sport of sepak takraw to compete at the 19th ASIAD. Indonesia has been effective with 2 gold medals in shooting. The Philippines and Singapore have gold medals in the basic Olympic sport of athletics. It can be seen that in addition to long-term investment in key sports, countries in the region have also been successful in shifting their focus to attractive sports, sports included in the official competition programs of the ASIAD and Olympics. They have spent a lot of effort and money on this investment, and the important thing is to have the right strategic vision and do it thoroughly to reap the results. We have not been like that yet," Mr. Minh shared.

Vietnamese archery has not been successful at ASIAD

In the 2022 activity report, towards the 2023 tasks, the leaders of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training (now the Department of Sports and Physical Training) also earnestly proposed that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism request the state to increase funding for the sports industry. At that time, Mr. Tran Duc Phan, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training (now retired), said that on average, the sports industry was allocated around 800 billion VND per year. This amount was used to pay for food and training expenses of coaches and athletes of the teams, and there was no surplus to invest in facilities and purchase modern equipment. Investment in sports, including key investments, was always mentioned, but the biggest barrier for the sports industry was still funding.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Minh said: "To have athletes with high achievements, we must invest a long time to reap achievements. In the investment, we must combine many factors such as biological issues, health care, injury recovery, nutrition, improving training equipment, having good experts... All of the above necessary things require investment in money. In my opinion, Vietnamese sports have never received adequate investment in training high-achievement athletes, leading to the consequence that there are not many athletes of continental and world class."

Lai Ly Huynh won the bronze medal in Chinese chess

Mr. Dang Ha Viet said: "The ASIAD and Olympic arenas are very demanding. We cannot train ASIAD or Olympic champions in a day or two, because it is a long-term process and requires many factors. In particular, sports must always be linked to the economy. You can also see at the 19th ASIAD, countries with strong economies such as China, Japan, South Korea... are also the countries competing for achievements on the continent. Because strong sports must have money to invest in selection, training and building a systematic sports tournament system with many modern elements. In general, many things in sports are related to funding and money".

Sports must be socialized.

One of the solutions for the development of Vietnamese sports is to solve the problem of sports economics to proactively source budget for training top athletes. Mr. Dang Ha Viet said that Vietnamese sports need the joint efforts of federations and associations, and must solve the problem of sports economics to have more funding for athlete training and upgrading facilities at sports training centers.

Để người khổng lồ SEA Games không tí hon ở ASIAD - Ảnh 3.

"For sports to be strong, they must be well socialized, but for that to happen, Vietnamese businesses must be strong. That is still a headache for us sports people. We really hope that Vietnam's economy will develop strongly, so that our businesses can join hands with sports for key investment strategies," said Mr. Viet.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Minh said that currently, the operating budget of Vietnamese sports mainly depends on the state budget, while in many countries with strong sports, they invest in sports based on socialized resources through sports federations and associations. "If we rely on the state budget, we will never meet the needs of training and improving the level of athletes. To have enough money to invest, we need to do a good job of socializing sports. Some federations and associations have gradually promoted their role in socializing sports, but many social organizations are also operating ineffectively and this is clearly reflected in their investment contributions and the achievements of that sport," Mr. Minh said.

Improve Vietnamese physique

According to football expert Doan Minh Xuong: "In recent times, Vietnamese athletes have made progress, but only compared to their previous selves. Therefore, Vietnamese sports need to re-evaluate and have a development strategy for the coming time. In the long term, the essence of the problem is to improve the breed. Vietnamese athletes compared to other countries are short and light, weak in strength and endurance. With the advancement of science and technology, athletes cannot compete only mentally, but must also be physically demanding.

How to make Vietnamese people taller, stronger, and more powerful to compete on the continental and world levels.

To improve physical fitness, there must be investment in the foundation, for children to play sports from a young age. This requires investment in facilities, nutrition, besides mass sports, competition systems, coaching qualifications... If we do not prioritize health and improving the breed, then do not hope for high-performance sports. This is not the sole responsibility of the sports industry."

Meanwhile, commentator Vu Quang Huy said: "We don't need to prioritize the SEA Games anymore, don't put too much emphasis on how high we can rank in Southeast Asia. Key athletes should also consider participating in tournaments. Even if necessary, athletes can skip the SEA Games to calculate the appropriate peak of performance, focusing on the ASIAD and Olympics."

Thu Bon

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