Top Vietnamese female swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien will compete in 10-12 categories with the aim of earning 8-10 gold medals at the upcoming 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, according to Dinh Viet Hung, general secretary of the Vietnam Aquatic Sports Association (VASA).

“We will adjust Vien’s competition categories when the Games begin. It depends on the schedule and real situation. The tournament rules allow us to reduce the competition categories of athletes, not increase them,” said Hung.

At the 28th Games held in Singapore two years ago, Vien registered for 19 events. However, she only participated in 13 events to focus on her favourite races.

Vien, 20, took home eight gold, one silver and one bronze medal to become one of the best performers at the 28th Games, behind only Singapore’s Joseph Isaac Schooling, who claimed gold in all nine disciplines he participated in.

To prepare for the Games, Vien took part in the recent FINA World Swimming Championships in Hungary but didn’t perform well. She failed in the qualifying round of her strong categories – the women’s 400m medley and 200m medley.

However, Hung said Vien and the other Vietnamese swimmers will not be focusing on the poor result.

“Vien’s goal is the Games in Malaysia,” said Hung.

“It is not easy to win gold medals in a tournament which has high competition such as the regional sport event. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan and Vien will have to calculate carefully to partake in the chosen divisions, not affecting physical fitness but still fulfilling the target,” Hung added.

According to Nguyen Hong Minh, former head of the National Sport Administration’s Elite Sport Department, Vien’s poor performance at the world event in Hungary doesn’t mean anything.

“The event was aimed to hone Vien’s skills. This is the period of training physical strength so it is normal when she didn’t gain a high achievement. Viên will shine in Malaysia and we will wait for new milestones of Vietnamese swimming,” said Minh.

Coach Tuan explained that the SEA Games will take place after the world event has finished, so he has planned to not allow Vien to become overloaded.

As scheduled, swimming will take place on August 21-26 with 38 sets of medals up for grabs.

Vien is one of Vietnam’s swimming stars. At the 2013 Games in Myanmar, she won three gold medals. She won a gold medal in the women’s 400m medley at the Asian Swimming Championships in April.

She also earned a gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games in China, and nine golds, four silvers and three bronzes at the 2014 Southeast Asian Swimming Championship in Singapore.

At the previous games in Singapore two years ago, Vietnam finished third with 73 golds. Thailand (95 golds) and the hosts (84 golds) secured the first and second positions, respectively.

VNS