VietNamNet Bridge - A ceremony was held in Hanoi on July 8 to see off the Vietnamese sports delegation to Olympic London 2012.

The 56-member delegation is led by Lam Quang Thanh, deputy head of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training.

As scheduled, the track-and-field and gymnastics teams will leave Vietnam for Bradford, UK on July 10 and the rest will depart on July 20.

Present the ceremony were athletes to compete in 5 of 11 events (rowing, wrestling, badminton, gymnastics, and track-and-field), who have finished training in foreign countries.

Promising athletes in weight-lifting, gymnastics and taekwondon events include Quoc Toan, Ha Thanh, Phuoc Hung and Le Huynh Chau.

The 1.8m-high fencer, Nguyen Tien Nhat, will represent the Vietnamese delegation to hold the national flag at the opening ceremony of Olympic London 2012.

The Vietnamese delegation has offered its athletes an award of VND1 billion in cash for each gold medal they win in London.

Vietnam to send largest-ever delegation to Olympic

Fifty-six Vietnamese sporting officials, coaches, assistants and journalists will attend the 2012 London Olympic Games which begins on July 27, far outnumbering the number of athletes standing at 18.

This is Vietnam’s largest-ever delegation to attend an Olympic even and the group will be led by Lam Quang Thanh, deputy head of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training.

Vietnam will compete at 11 categories at the tournament, including gymnastics (Ha Thanh, Ngan Thuong, Phuoc Hung), shooting (Xuan Vinh, Hoang Ngoc), judo (Ngoc Tu), track and field (Viet Anh, Thanh Phuc), weightlifting (Quoc Toan, Nguyen Thi Thuy), rowing (Pham Thi Hai, Pham Thi Thao), badminton (Tien Minh), taekwondo (Huynh Chau, Dieu Linh), fencing (Tien Nhat), wrestling (Nguyen Thi Lua), and swimming (Anh Vien).

The sporting department and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism will meet with the delegation prior to their London departure on July 8.

Some insiders have expressed concerns over the fact that the number of non-competing officials in the delegation is more than double that of those who will really compete for the medals, Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reported.

But head of the delegation Thanh told the newspaper that “this is normal for an athlete to be accompanied by their coach and expert during an international tournament.”

“We are trying our best to support the athletes, and the number of people to go to London this summer is totally reasonable,” he said.

The gymnastic group includes 3 athletes and four experts, while the two taekwondo marital artists are escorted by two Korean experts.

“Moreover, there are seven out of the 56 people in the delegation who are not sporting officials but reporters and journalists from news agencies under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism,” Thanh told Nguoi Lao Dong.

Meanwhile, high-jumper Duong Thi Viet Anh and race walker Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc are set to leave for London next week to prepare for the Olympic, despite their injuries.

Anh achieved the Olympic qualifying standard B after jumping over the 1.92m height at the 2012 Asian Grand Prix in Kazakhstan, while Phuc made a similar achievement in the 2012 Asian Race Walking Championships.

VN promises VND1bil. to each Olympic gold medalist
 
Vietnamese athletes competing at the 2012 London Olympic Games will be able to receive awards worth a record VND1 billion (around $50,000) if they can bring home a gold medal.

The huge award includes VND160 million as regulated by the government, and VND750 million donated by the Petrosetco and Dong Luc Sporting Group, according to the Vietnam Olympic Committee.

Those who grab a silver will also receive at least VND530 million, the committee said.

The Vietnamese gymnastic and track-and-field teams will arrive in London for a 10-day training trip on July 10, while most of the delegation will depart on July 20.

Vietnam, with 18 athletes who will compete at 11 categories during the event, expects to go home with at least one medal.

Head of the delegation Lam Quang Thanh said London 2012 is one of the most impressive Olympic events Vietnam has ever participated in as all of the athletes have won tickets to the tournament through their own efforts, rather than joining under incentives granted to countries with poor sport records.

Thanh added that most of the Vietnamese competitors have been asked to undergo doping tests by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The test results will be announced prior to their competition in London.

“I believe Vietnam will face no incidents related to doping this time,” he said.

Weightlifting and taekwondo are the two most expected sports to bring medals for Vietnam at the tournament.

VOV/Tuoitre