VietNamNet Bridge – On the first day of the Asian Grand Prix 2012, Truong Thanh Hang won a gold medal for women’s 800m running but she did not get a ticket to the Olympics yet.



The most important track-and-field tournament for Vietnamese athletes this year – the Asian Grand Prix – opened on May 8. The seven best athletes of Vietnam were sent to this competition, aiming to seek cards to the Olympics.

After the first card was acquired by walker Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc, Vietnam lays its hope on Vu Thi Huong, Truong Thanh Hang and Duong Viet Anh.

Among these athletes, Truong Thanh Hang is the biggest hope. Hang exceed the Olympic B standard with 2.00.91 minutes for women’s 800m running at the Asian Games 2010. However, the International Athletics Federation did not consider this tournament as a qualifier competition for the Olympics.

After the Southeast Asian Games 2011, Hang has been among the key track-and-field athletes that have been invested highly. At the Asian Grand Prix, Hang has only five rivals and all of them have lower records than her.

Pressure was high but Hang entered the race confident. She finished first with 2.02.16 minutes and won the first gold medal for Vietnam. However, the record is still lower than the Olympic B standard (2.01.30 minutes).

Vu Thi Huong did not perform well, with 11.79 seconds; she finished third at women’s 100m running. At the SEA Games 2011, Huong’s record was 11.71 second. The B standard is 11.38 seconds.

High-jumper Viet Anh’s performance was also not good. With 1.86m, she could not win an Olympic ticket. Earlier, at the SEA Games 2011, she broke 1.90m to win a gold medal but the needed record is 1.92m to go to the Olympics.

The Asian Grand Prix has three stages. After the first day, Vietnamese athletes still have hope at the competitions on May 11 and 14.

The Asian Grand Prix is the play-ground for elite sportsmen who are selected by the Asian Athletes Association (AAA).

According to AAA’s list sent to the Vietnam Athletes Federation, Vietnam has seven athletes who are qualified for this tournament, including Vu Thi Huong (women’s 100m running), Truong Thanh Hang (women’s 800m running), Duong Thi Viet Anh (women’s high-jumping), Nguyen Thi Thuy (women’s 400m running), Do Thi Thao (women’s 800m running), Duong Van Thai (men’s 800m running) and Nguyen Van Hung (men’s three-step juming).

S. Tung