China After closing the 19th Asian Games with a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle, Vietnam's number one swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang is aiming for a big goal at the 2024 Olympics.
Swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang won two bronze medals at the 19th Asiad in the 400m and 800m freestyle events.
- The bronze medal in the 400m freestyle can be considered a surprise, as it is not your forte. How does Huy Hoang feel?
- I am very happy and surprised because I did not believe that I could win a medal in this distance. I did it and want to dedicate the medal to my teachers and experts - who have gone through a lot of hardship with me over the past four months to achieve today's results.
- So how did you conquer this distance?
- I swam to conserve my energy and then sprinted for the last stretch. In the last 100m, I saw that my opponent was on par with me so I pushed myself to try harder. I looked at the fifth lane (Khiew Hoe Yean) and saw that my opponent was getting weaker so I thought I could overtake him. When my hand touched the pool, I knew I had won the bronze medal so I was very happy.
- After missing out on the 1,500m freestyle medal, Huy Hoang admitted that he felt pressured to perform. How did he overcome it to win the bronze medals in the 800m freestyle and 400m freestyle?
- When I started the 1,500m freestyle, I had many thoughts in my head. They were how to defend the silver medal from the previous event, how to win a medal for the Vietnamese sports delegation, and how to meet everyone's expectations. I received a lot of love and affection, so I thought even more.
Without any results, I started to think again that I needed to put all those things aside to compete well. If I didn't put them aside, the remaining two distances would be failures. Finally, I did it. After swimming the 800m freestyle yesterday, I felt tired but encouraged myself to just play my best. I thank my parents, friends, and fans for being by my side to encourage me during the most difficult times.
Huy Hoang is the most successful Vietnamese swimmer at the Asiad with one silver medal and three bronze medals.
- After the results of this congress, does Huy Hoang think about changing the strategy to focus on this distance?
- This bronze medal is beyond my imagination, but I have not changed my goal. My focus is still the 800m and 1,500m freestyle. When I swim long distances, I can completely increase my speed to swim short distances. People find it strange, but we are different. In fact, if I win the 400m freestyle medal, that's great, if I don't, it's okay.
Before the competition, I didn't think I could do it because the shorter the distance, the stronger the opponent. Today is the last day of the swimming competition, also the end of my second Asian Games. This is truly a fierce competition. In Olympic sports such as swimming, Japan, Korea, and China are all developing strongly. If Vietnamese athletes can go to training, they will be happy, otherwise they will try to practice at home. The conditions are hard to compare.
- What is Huy Hoang's next goal?
- I have achieved the A standard for the 2024 Olympics in the 800m freestyle. It is a great honor because I will definitely go to Paris, France next year. I will continue to try to achieve the A standard in the 1,500m distance, which I have already achieved the B standard. My goal is the same as the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. I want to become the first Vietnamese swimmer to reach the top 8, which is the final round. Previously, Ms. Anh Vien's best achievement was ninth place in the qualifying round.
Hieu Luong
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