There is just nearly a month left before the 2018 Asian Games (Asiad) officially commences in Indonesia. Joining many athletes in other teams, members of Vietnam’s gymnastics squad are working hard, in the hopes of having a successful Asiad, scheduled to take place this August in the two cities of Jakarta and Palembang.

Working hard towards success

Le Thanh Tung (centre), the gold medalist at the recent World Challenge Cup in Slovenia, will be among the major hopes of Vietnamese gymnastics at the 2018 Asian Games. 

These days, all the seven members (including five major athletes and two substitutes) are gathering at the Hanoi National Sports Training Centre and actively practising under the guidance of coach Truong Minh Sang, together with experts. As shared by Sang, the training conditions, in terms of both accommodation and nutrition, are very good; particularly, the athletes are working seriously and with high consciousness, determined to achieve great success at the upcoming games in Indonesia.

Although winning Asiad medals is always a challenge for Vietnamese athletes due to the presence of many world-class competitors, it is quite possible for that goal to come true when looking at the recent international achievements attained by the national gymnastics team. Looking back to last June, male gymnasts Dinh Phuong Thanh and Le Thanh Tung performed brilliantly to bring home two gold medals for Vietnam in the parallel bars and vault events at the World Challenger Cup in Slovenia, at which Thanh Tung put in a commendable performance to overcome a very strong opponent from Japan, Takumi Sato.

At the 29th SEA Games in late August 2017, Phuong Thanh and Thanh Tung joined teammates, Dang Nam and Pham Phuoc Hung, to bring home five gold and two silver medals for the gymnastics team, contributing significantly to Vietnam’s overall third place at the largest regional sporting event. Those notable achievements are a big source of motivation which boost the confidence of Vietnamese gymnasts ahead of their campaign at the 18th Asiad.

The gymnastics team contribute significantly to Vietnam's success at the 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games last year.

Hopes pinned on male gymnasts

Four years ago, Vietnamese gymnastics impressed by taking their first-ever medals at the Asiad arena, with a silver won by Phan Thi Ha Thanh (women’s balance beam), and three bronzes by Ha Thanh (vault), Phuong Thanh (men’s parallel bars), and Dang Nam (men’s rings), in Incheon, the Republic of Korea.

The regular achievements and the steady progress of young male players, such as Tuan Dat, Thanh Tung and Phuong Thanh, were the extremely optimistic signals for the Vietnam gymnastics team en route to the upcoming Games. 

However, as for the women’s team, following Ha Thanh’s farewell to national services, the current generation of athletes, namely Ngoc Huynh, Quynh Nhu, Hai Yen, To Lien, or Khanh Van, have yet to be trusted at the large international competitions. It will take time for these females to build their own confidence, accumulate experience and sharpen their skills to reach the level of senior Phan Thi Ha Thanh in the future.

Over the past few years, Vietnamese gymnastics has witnessed impressive steps of maturity, manifested through an increasing number of athletes involved in training and adhering to such a highly severe subject. 

To become a professional gymnast, boys and girls are forced to begin training from a very young age (usually starting at the age of five) and undergo a long-term training process with high risks of injury. Gymnastics is gradually becoming one of Vietnam’s strongest sport events when competing at regional and world-class sporting playgrounds.

The athletes’ determination and seriousness in training and the coaching staff’s wholehearted devotion, together with the positive results attained over recent years, will be a solid foundation for home fans to put their trust in the success of the Vietnam gymnastics team in particular, as well as the Vietnamese sport delegation as a whole, at the upcoming 2018 Asiad, set to get underway in mid-August in Indonesia.

Nhan Dan