Surprising but explainable
Although the 32nd SEA Games has not ended, it can be affirmed that the Vietnamese Sports Delegation will certainly finish in one of the top two positions with over 100 gold medals, successfully completing the target set before departure.
Four Vietnamese track and field athletes celebrate victory in the 4x400 men's and women's relay event. Photo: Bui Luong
However, one of the main sports, athletics, could not complete the initial target number.
Specifically, track and field athletes won 12 gold medals while the target was 14 gold medals. That caused Vietnamese track and field athletes to drop to second place at this year's games, after Thailand (16 gold medals).
This is considered a surprise because in 3 consecutive SEA Games, Vietnam has left Thailand in the dust in this sport. Even at the 31st SEA Games held at home, Vietnam's athletics team won 22 gold medals while Thailand only had 10.
What are the reasons for the decline of Vietnamese athletics? First of all, Vietnam lost 2 gold medals because Quach Thi Lan (400m hurdles) and Vu Thi Ngoc Ha (long jump) were banned from competing (using banned substances at the 31st SEA Games). 2 gold medals in the men's 5,000m and 10,000m events were also lost because the reigning champion Nguyen Van Lai retired from his career.
Many champions themselves such as Hoang Nguyen Thanh (marathon), Vo Xuan Vinh (men's walking), Nguyen Tien Trong (long jump), Luong Duc Phuoc (men's 1,500m), Nguyen Hoai Van (javelin throw), Pham Thi Diem (high jump) competed below expectations and could not defend their gold medals.
In addition, many countries in the region have risen strongly. Typically, Indonesia won 7 gold medals while the previous SEA Games only won 2 gold medals.
According to Dr. Duong Duc Thuy, former Head of the Athletics Department, General Department of Sports and Physical Training, overall, it is not surprising that Vietnamese athletics lost the number 1 position.
“We seem to be complacent and resting on our laurels. I see many athletes winning gold medals but their performance is not good and their tactics are not reasonable,” said Mr. Thuy.
Mr. Thuy also believes that, looking further, Vietnamese athletics still cannot expand its strengths to compete for medals: "In the speed group, we absolutely dominate the middle distances for women but not for men.
We are also weak in short distances, with only My Tien winning the women's 100m hurdles gold medal. In heavy events such as javelin throw, shot put, hammer throw or technical events such as long jump and high jump, we have had times when we have risen, but the lack of stability and ups and downs makes it difficult to expect.
How to regain position?
The reasons for the decline of Vietnamese athletics have been identified, so how can this sport regain its leading position in the region, and even reach further in the future?
Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung, General Secretary of the Vietnam Athletics Federation, shared that despite their efforts, the failure to complete the target was regrettable. The federation will hold a professional meeting to comprehensively evaluate and learn from the shortcomings at the 32nd SEA Games before providing information to the press.
According to Mr. Thuy, athletics managers should frankly acknowledge weaknesses and shortcomings and find ways to overcome them, not be lenient and blame the situation.
In addition, the quality of coaches must be improved: “How many Vietnamese athletics coaches have been trained abroad, in places with strong sports development such as Japan, Korea or China? If coaches cannot improve their skills and absorb new and good things from world sports, it will be difficult to raise the level of athletes.”
Another important point, according to Mr. Thuy, is the need to change the training mindset from the local level: “I know that some localities only care about the National Sports Festival or only care about the SEA Games, so when they have a few good athletes, they are satisfied. That will make it very difficult for the upper level. In order not to miss out on talent, it is necessary to promote socialization, we cannot rely on a small budget.”
Meanwhile, journalist Nguyen Luu commented that Vietnamese athletics needs to review training methods for male athletes because there is a serious imbalance.
“Of the 12 gold medals, 11 were won by female athletes. Even the next generation of women is doing better than the men. This is something we have to think about and find a solution for. If we can improve the achievements of male athletes, Vietnamese athletics will soon return to the top position in Southeast Asia,” said Mr. Luu.
According to Mr. Luu, any sport that wants to improve its performance needs athletes to compete regularly, and athletics is no exception: “Currently, our athletes do not have many truly quality tournaments to train and prepare for the SEA Games or ASIAD goals. Only by competing against strong opponents can athletes learn many things and accumulate good skills and abilities.”
The athletics team was awarded more than 4 billion VND.
With the achievement of winning 40 medals, including 12 gold medals at the 32nd SEA Games, the Vietnamese athletics team is expected to receive more than 4 billion VND in bonuses.
Athlete Nguyen Thi Oanh, who won 4 gold medals, was awarded a car worth more than 900 million VND, more than 80 million VND in personal income tax from THACO AUTO Group, a 700 million VND apartment and cash worth more than 500 million VND.
Many other businesses also joined hands to reward the athletics team with about 1 billion VND, in addition, the athletics team gave the athletes a bonus of up to 500 million VND.
The rest is bonus money from the State budget for athletes with high achievements (gold medal 45 million VND, silver medal 25 million VND and bronze medal 20 million VND).
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