Vietnam is actively preparing for the 28th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), which will be held in Singapore in June 2015.

Along that line, coaches and athletes are following strict schedules at the national sports training centre in Hanoi in preparation for the event. Athletes may go out only on Wednesday and Sunday, according to the centre’s regulations, and are spending the majority of their time practising.

They are participating in diets to ensure their physical health. This week, the athletes will benefit from a new diet with 300,000 VND (14 USD) worth of food per day, said Deputy Director of the Centre Nguyen Trong Ho.

Coach Vu The Hoang from the Pencak Silat team said all 38 players have been practising since the fourth day of the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet).

Despite the early gathering and prolonged training, the players remain excited and ready for the games.

Nguyen Van Lai, who brought home two gold medals in track and field at the 27 th SEA Games, shared that this is a critical time for all athletes and they need to maximise their efforts to gear up for the games.

He revealed that in the upcoming SEA Games, he will compete in two of his best categories—5,000 metres and 10,000 metres—and said he will try his best to perform well at the games.

As many as 440 Vietnamese athletes are expected to compete in 27 sport categories in the 28 th SEA Games.

They aim to top the games with 56-74 gold medals.

VNA