Body-builder Nguyen Thi My Linh 

VietNamNet Bridge – As many athletes said goodbye to HCM City to join other teams, HCM City has applied new policies to keep and attract its sport talents and attract new ones. 

Since the city issued a new incentive policy for talented sportsmen last October, the number of athletes who leave the city has reduced decreased remarkably. Only several volleyball players have moved to other clubs, where which offer higher pay.

Some athletes who left HCM City want to return while some track-and-field, chess, badminton players of from other provinces have joined HCM City’s teams.

Body-builder Nguyen Thi My Linh, who recently won a silver medal at the world and the Asian body-building championships world and an Asian silver medal, said that the city’s current policy for sport talentssmen has been improved. Though the incentive is not very high but it athletes can live with it so they can  the salary is still enough for them not to worry about money and instead concentrate their mind in practisingpractice.

With two silver medals, Linh will receive bonus worth 65 million dong ($3,300) and monthly allowance of 15 million dong ($750) for a year under the new policy.

After taking a gold medal at the World Youth Olympic Games 2010, weight-lifter Thach Kim Tuan will earn 11.25 million dong ($550) a month within in the next four years, plus 40 million dong ($2000) of bonus.

Mai Ba Hung, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that with the new policy, HCM City is one of provinces that have the best incentive mechanism for athletes in Vietnam.

However, Hung said that the new policy needs to be reviewed and adjusted to fit the new situation. It is unfair to grant the same incentive to winners of gold, silver and bronze medals, he said.

According to the new policy,

- Medal winners at the World Championships and Olympic Games will be paid 15 million dong/person a month.
- Medal winners at the World Youth Olympic Games and World Youth Championships will be paid 11.25 million dong/person a month.
- Medal winners at the Asian Games, Asian Indoor Games and Asian Championships will be paid 10 million dong/person a month.
- Medal winners at the Asianf Youth Tournaments will be paid 7.5 million dong/person a month.
- Medal winners at the Southeast Asian Games and Southeast Asian Championships will be paid 5 million dong a month.
- Medal winners at the Southeast Asian Youth Championships will be paid 3.75 million dong a month.

The pay will be granted since from the time they win the medals until the tournament is held in the following yearof the next year is held.

PV