VietNamNet Bridge – With 18 official tickets for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Vietnam has fulfilled the target set before the Olympic qualification rounds: to earn from 15 to 20 places for the Games. The progress shows the determination and efforts made by the athletes as well as the appropriate focus on top athletes in key Olympic sports for Vietnam.

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The Vietnamese women's weightlifting team.

 

In Southeast Asia, Vietnam can be proud that it is usually among the countries earning the most berths at the Olympic Games. At the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Thailand won 27 slots, followed by Malaysia (22), Vietnam (18), Singapore (16), Indonesia (12), and the Philippines (6).

However, Vietnam still had very modest results at the recent Games. Its highest result was two silver medals by taekwondo martial artist Tran Hieu Ngan in 2000 and weightlifter Hoang Anh Tuan in 2008.

At the most recent Olympic Games in 2012, Vietnam made thorough preparations in terms of nutrition for athletes, hiring of foreign coaches, overseas training trips and more but the Vietnamese athletes returned empty-handed.

Meanwhile, Thailand secured two silver medals and one bronze medal, Malaysia brought home one silver and one bronze medal, and Singapore earned two bronze medals.

In the past two years, the Vietnamese sports sector has continued to pay special attention to key Olympic sports with a high expectation of earning better results in the world arena.

Millions of US dollars have been spent to send prominent athletes abroad for long term training courses, including swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien, athletes Quach Thi Lan and Quach Cong Lich, weightlifters Thach Kim Tuan and Tran Le Quoc Toan.

High expectations have been placed upon these top athletes, to improve the performance of Vietnam in the international tournaments.

There are only two months left before the official opening of the 2016 Olympic Games.

The ability to win Olympic medals depends on many factors, but it is noteworthy to mention that Vietnam is on the right track to make things happen by investing more in key sports, which not only help improve the performance of Vietnamese athletes, but also the health and physical strength of Vietnamese people in general.

Nhan Dan