Vuong Thi Huyen is one of three Vietnamese athletes qualified for the Olympics. But she could lose her spot after the country was stripped of one berth due to doping. Photo anninhthudo.vn

The International Weightlifting Federation in June sent a confirmation that Thach Kim Tuan (men’s 61kg), Hoang Thi Duyen (women’s 59kg) and Vuong Thi Huyen (women’s 49kg) had qualified for the Tokyo Games.

However, the International Testing Agency has forced the country to remove one female berth as punishment after four of the country’s athletes tested positive for banned drugs in 2019 and 2020. None of these lifters won Olympic slots.

“The fine is obvious and we have already predicted it and prepared for it,” said Do Dinh Khang, general secretary of the Vietnam Weightlifting and Body Building Federation.

“We will discuss to choose the suitable athlete for Tokyo based on her qualification results, current performance and chance to be in top three,” he said.

The only man Tuan is No 4 in his class in the world.

The coaches will have to choose between Huyen who is No 12 in the world and Duyen, world No 10.  

Vietnam will have 17 total slots at the Olympics which will begin on July 23. 

Source: Vietnam News

Three Vietnamese weightlifters to compete in Olympics

Three Vietnamese weightlifters have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics next month.