Proposal to remove SEA Games target in Vietnam's sports development strategy

19th Asiad Champion Pham Quang Huy - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH

On the morning of March 28 in Hanoi, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Vietnam Sports Administration held a workshop to contribute ideas to the development program of key sports to prepare for the Olympics and Asiad in the period 2026-2046.

The workshop was attended by nearly 200 delegates including experts, scientists, sports managers, leaders of departments, federations and sports associations.

Need 180 billion VND annually to invest in key subjects

Many topics were discussed, such as the topic "Solutions to connect local and central resources" by Mr. Nguyen Nam Nhan - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City. "Application of technology in quantifying and managing performance indicators" by the National Sports Training Center (Ho Chi Minh City), "Application of modern nutritional science" by Mr. Pham Hoang Tung - National Youth Athletes Training Center (Da Nang),...

Representative of Ho Chi Minh City National Sports Training Center presented the topic of Applying technology in quantifying and managing sports performance indicators - Photo: BUI LUONG

The program for developing key sports to prepare for the Olympics and Asian Games in the period 2026-2046 plans 17 key sports, including: shooting, archery, weightlifting, badminton, taekwondo, boxing, fencing, rowing (Olympic medal competition), athletics, judo, karate, wushu, gymnastics, wrestling, swimming, sepak takraw, cycling (Asian medal competition).

According to the sports industry's estimate, investment costs for 17 key sports need 175 - 180 billion VND/year in the period 2026 - 2030, then increase by 10% for each period 2030 - 2036 and 2036 - 2046.

Funding sources will be mobilized from the central budget, aid, sponsorship, sources from national sports federations and associations, domestic and foreign organizations and individuals, and other legal funding sources.

Regarding achievement goals, Vietnamese sports hope to maintain their ranking in the top 3 and 2 at the SEA Games in the period of 2026 - 2046. Be in the top 20 to 15 at the Asian Games and strive to win 1 silver medal and 6 bronze medals at the Olympics (focusing on archery, weightlifting and shooting).

Sports expert Nguyen Hong Minh - former head of the Department of High Performance Sports (Sports and Physical Training Committee) - suggested that the SEA Games quota should be removed and the number of key investment sports should be reduced - Photo: BUI LUONG

Should remove SEA Games target?

Speaking at the workshop, expert Nguyen Hong Minh - former head of the Department of High Performance Sports (Sports and Physical Training Committee), head of the Vietnamese sports delegation at many international conferences - proposed two ideas for the Program for developing key sports to prepare for the Olympics and Asiad in the period 2026-2046.

First is the complete removal of the SEA Games target because the focus of the program is to achieve achievements at the continental and world levels.

Expert Hong Minh also suggested that the number of key sports should be reduced, citing evidence that many countries with strong sports do not focus on more than 10 sports, such as South Korea which only has 4 key sports; the US, China and Russia also only have about 7 key sports. Meanwhile, Vietnamese sports still face many difficulties and shortcomings, yet they still choose 17 sports.

"We should only focus on the content of the sports included in the Asian Games and Olympic competition programs where Vietnamese athletes can compete for medals. If we add the SEA Games target, it will add more content and more sports, causing us to disperse our resources. Only by acting on the right core content can we help coaches and athletes improve their expertise and aim for the continental and world arenas," said Mr. Minh.

Thanking and accepting the opinions of expert Hong Minh, Director Dang Ha Viet said that the Vietnam Sports and Physical Training Department will review and re-evaluate the program's indicators. According to the schedule, the program will be submitted by the sports sector to the Government for approval in 2025.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/de-xuat-bo-chi-tieu-sea-games-trong-chien-luoc-phat-trien-the-thao-viet-nam-20250328150856264.htm