A send-off ceremony for the Vietnamese delegation to the 28th Southeast Asian Games is planned at the National Sports Centre in Hanoi on May 19, marking the 125th birth anniversary of late President Ho Chi Minh.

According to Tran Duc Phan, Deputy Director of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training, who heads the delegation, Vietnam will send 440 athletes and compete in 402 events from 27 sports.

Athletics, gymnastics, swimming, martial arts and shooting are Vietnam’s major opportunities in the hunt for gold as the country eyes from 50 to 70 gold medals at the Games which will kick off in Singapore early this June.

To prepare for the games, athletes from 13 major sports have been training hard at three national sports centres in Hanoi, HCM City and Da Nang city.

Eighteen teams have been sent on overseas training courses. Swimmers and runners are training in the US and Japan, shooters in the Republic of Korea, rowers in Singapore, gymnasts in Canada, and wushu, table tennis players and archers in China.

The games will take place from June 5-16 with the participation of around 7,000 athletes from 11 countries in Southeast Asia.

Vietnam has maintained a spot in the overall top three since 2003 when the country, as the host nation, dominated with 158 gold medals.

At the last Games in 2013, Vietnam ranked third in the overall medal standings with 73 gold medals, 86 silvers and 86 bronzes, after Thailand and hosts Myanmar.

High hopes for Vietnam swimmers at the 28th SEA Games

With just over a month to the 28th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), Vietnamese swimmers are kicking into high gear as they pack their bags for training and competition tours in the US and Japan in the lead up to the big battle.

Vietnam’s top female swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien is participating in training courses in the US and has recently received accolades at the 2015 US National Swimming Championships and 2015 Arena Pro Series in Mesa Arizona.

All of the swimmers have high hopes for medals and have signed up to compete in 10 events, with the coaches optimistic that Vien has an excellent chance of winning six gold medals at the competition.

Meanwhile, a group of male swimmers including Hoang Quy Phuoc, Tran Duy Khoi, Lam Quang Nhat and Huynh The Vi are also training hard.

Quy Phuoc has won two consecutive gold medals at the SEA Games 2011 and 2013 and is now taking part in training courses in Japan to improve his technique and physique.

VNA/VOV