Vietnam’s swimming team will participate in the 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games with their largest force ever, including 25 members (17 athletes), targeting to surpass the impressive results achieved at the previous Games in Singapore, when they returned home with an overall tally of 10 gold medals.

Anh Vien continues to be the greatest gold medal hope for Vietnam at the upcoming SEA Games in Malaysia.

Anh Vien, Quy Phuoc, Quang Nhat and Duy Khoi remain the pillars of the Vietnamese swimming team traveling to Malaysia, while Huy Hoang, Kim Son and Le Nguyen Paul, a Vietnamese American, are also expected to produce greater feats in their preferred disciplines.

At the 28th SEA Games, Vietnam’s “swimming queen” Anh Vien produced an exceptional showing as she accounted for eight of the national team’s ten gold medals. Therefore, the Can Tho-born swimmer continues to be the greatest gold medal hope for Vietnam at the upcoming Games in Malaysia.

Anh Vien has made thorough preparations for the largest regional sporting event, and according to Vien’s direct trainer, Dang Anh Tuan, his student will compete for medals in around 11 disciplines in this year’s Games.

Meanwhile, other male swimmers, such as Hoang Quy Phuoc and Le Nguyen Paul, will have to make great efforts if they want to secure gold medals for Vietnam, as their regional competitors, including Schooling (Singapore) and Sim Wee Sheng (Malaysia), have risen to approach the world-class level.

Following the 28th SEA Games, Vietnamese swimming did not live up to expectations at the 2016 Olympics. Returning to a more appropriate arena such as the SEA Games, there are strong hopes that Vietnamese swimmers will realise their gold medal target, and more importantly, overcome themselves to achieve new milestones.

Nhan Dan