Deputy Minister Cuong had a working session with leaders of the Sports Authority of Viet Nam (SAV) and heads of sport departments discussing about the nation’s preparation for the 33rd SEA Games and other important international tasks in the upcoming time on February 19 in Ha Noi.
Deputy Minister Cuong said in the first days of 2025, Viet Nam continuously received good news when athletes of cycling and shooting teams won gold medals from continental arena. This shows that the sports which received strong government’s support were on the right track to develop better.
However, although Viet Nam chose right sports to invest and Vietnamese athletes were talented and potential to develop, their international achievements could not compare with top athletes of Asia and the world. Their results were only getting closer to the top-three groups of the Olympics and continental Games. This shows that the national sports industry would have to invest stronger in key sports groups.
Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Dao Cuong speaks at the working session
Accordingly, sports, which have been identified towards different arenas in different periods of time, should have serious, meticulous and careful plans of training courses and international competition to ensure the most thoughtful preparation and highest results.
Following the lists of athletes are made by the coaching boards recently, medal candidates at the 33rd SEA Games are mainly familiar names, having not many new factors.
However, this is only an initial plan. Currently, teams are still in the process of screening and selecting. The best athletes will be picked to prepare for the largest regional and international sports arenas in 2025. Therefore, there are still many opportunities for young athletes and new faces who always desire to contribute and bring glory home.
It is said that the SEA Games arena is an important launching pad to help Vietnamese sports affirm its position in the Southeast Asian arena, thereby reaching the continental and the world levels.
Deputy Minister Cuong suggested that national teams should not choose safe plans to ensure their assigned targets for this Games but boldly trust talented young athletes who were potential for long-term development; give them more opportunities to compete and demonstrate their abilities in the best conditions.
Deputy Minister Cuong believed that these young faces and new factors would create surprises in achievements, and contribute to renewing and gradually changing the national sport’s world position. They would become the next force of quality athletes for Vietnamese sports to thrive in the upcoming time.
When talking about the goals of Viet Nam at the 33rd SEA Games taking place in Thailand at the end of this year, Deputy Minister Cuong affirmed: “Viet Nam ranked on top of the medal tally in the last two SEA Games. The country must move forward, affirm our position in the region. No reason to drop back.”
To complete this important task, the SAV is asked to closely follow the national teams’ implementation of training and international competition plans to ensure the most effective and efficient results.
In addition, sport federations and associations and localities’ sport departments are required to join hands, share, and accompany athletes when they are summoned to the national teams for duty.
Another task is to have more funding sources (in addition to the state budget, socialization resources should be well mobilized) to give athletes more opportunities to compete and train in countries with developed sports backgrounds. There they can learn knowledge, sharpen technique, and improve their expertise to earn the best achievements for Viet Nam.
Noting the instructions and assigned tasks from the leader of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, SAV Director Dang Ha Viet said that the SAV staff would closely supervise and accompany each national team.
At the same time, SAV would direct the National Training Centers to create the most favorable conditions in terms of accommodation, facilities, and training equipment to help athletes earn best results in training and maximize their profession in competing.
Thanh Ha