Over 200 Vietnamese athletes at ASIAD 2018
More than 200 Vietnamese athletes will take part in the Asian Games (ASIAD) 2018 to be held in Indonesia in August, according to the National Sports Administration (NSA).
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They aim to bring home three-five gold medals in key sports, such as athletics, swimming, weightlifting, shooting and gymnastics.
At present, some 60 elite athletes from the country are investing in training exceptionally to achieve high results in the Asian event and earn tickets to Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien is training in the United States, while runner Le Tu Chinh will leave for the United States on February 23 to begin her four-year training.
Karate, wrestling, gymnastics and shooting teams will also be sent abroad for short training sessions and to compete in international tournaments to hone their skills and gain experience.
More than 400 athletes and 85 coaches have convened in national teams at the national training centres in Hanoi, Danang, Can Tho and HCM City. After training, some 200 selected athletes will travel to Indonesia for the continental tournament.
NSA said it invited 15 foreign experts to the country to guide and train Vietnamese players who have a chance of winning gold medals.
Vietnam will compete in 20 of the 40 sports in ASIAD, including football, karate, wushu and pencak silat.
In the ASIAD Games in Incheon, the Republic of Korea, in 2014, Vietnam won one gold, 10 silver medals and 25 bronze medals to rank 21. The country’s best result so far has been four golds at the Busan Games in 2002.
