Viet Nam depart for 16th Asian Games

Bound for glory: Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan tells Vietnamese athletes to compete with honour at the send-off ceremony in Ha Noi yesterday. Viet Nam will compete at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China this week. — VNA/VNS Ngoc Truong

HA NOI — Vietnamese athletes were told to give it their all and act as ambassadors for the nation at the 16th Asian Games (ASIAD) which will start in China's Guangzhou this week.

Speaking at the send-off ceremony at Ha Noi's Military Theatre yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan said, "ASIAD is the biggest sporting event in the continent this year. It is will be a tough competition with many powerful rivals but I hope our athletes will try their best in the spirit of the Games. You must follow the rules and regulations, and always respect the referees' decisions."

The deputy PM confirmed that despite many difficulties, the Vietnamese Government had paid special attention to sport which was considered an important sector that promoted the development of the country and highlighted the position of Viet Nam on the world stage.

"I believe that each of the Vietnamese participants will be a cultural ambassador and represent the beauty of the people and nation of Viet Nam.

"I hope our athletes will successfully complete their duties and bring home glory," Nhan said.

Deputy head of the National Sports Administration Le Quy Phuong, who is leading Viet Nam's delegation to Guangzhou, also reminded the team of their task.

"We have made good preparations for ASIAD and we're ready to leave for the Games. We will do our best to win at least four gold medals and finish in the top 20.

"The encouragement from state leaders and the public today will drive us on to ASIAD success."

On behalf of all participants, sprinter Vu Thi Huong, who is the women's 100m Southeast Asian Games champion, swore an oath that Vietnamese athletes would try their best to succeed in the spirit of friendliness and fair play.

Two hundred and sixty Vietnamese athletes will participate at the Games in 27 sports. Most of the team will depart for Guangzhou on Thursday while the others will join them later.
Viet Nam are hopeful of gold in the sepak takraw and karate, in which the Vietnamese women and Vu Thi Nguyet Anh are defending champions.

Chess makes its debut this year and Vietnamese masters have made their mark on the world stage with remarkable success in recent years.
More success is expected in track and field, shooting, billiards and snooker.

At the previous Games in Qatar, Viet Nam grabbed three gold, 13 silver and seven bronze medals, ranking 19th out of 38 delegations. Their best performance came eight year ago in Busan, South Korea, where they earned four gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals, which helped them to reach 15th out of 43 teams.

The 16th Asian Games' opening ceremony will be on Friday and the Games will close on November 27. — VNS

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Vietnamese athletes set off for Asiad 16

Vietnam’s athlete delegation to the 16th Asian Games (Asiad 16) organised a departure ceremony in Hanoi on Nov. 7.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan attended the event,
encouraging the athletes to achieve good results at Asiad 16, scheduled
to take place in China ’s Guangxi province from Nov. 12-27.

Le Quy Phuong, Deputy General Director of the General Sports
Department and Head of the delegation, said Asiad 16 will be a big
challenge to the Vietnamese athletes.

However, they
are now ready to compete and expected to bring home from 4-6 gold
medals, helping the nation to rank in Top 15 at Asiad 16, Phuong added.

Vietnam is sending a 392-member delegation to
the games, including 260 athletes – the largest number so far – who will
compete in 29 sport and sub-sports events.

Experts
said Vietnam pins high hopes on its strong sports such as sepak
takraw, shooting, wushu, karate and chess, but it is likely to make
surprises in Olympics sports, namely track and field, swimming,
taekwondo and weightlifting./.

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High hopes for top Vietnamese athletes

Air time: Vietnamese Nguyen Thi Hien kicks the ball in the women's sepak takraw team final at the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. Viet Nam will compete at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China next month. — VNA/VNS Photo Ngoc Truong

HA NOI — Vietnamese athletes are ready to compete in next month's Asian Games to be held in Guangzhou, China deputy head of the National Sports Administration Le Quy Phuong said.

Athletes will be given random doping tests before the Asian Games begin on November 12-27.

Samples will be taken at the national training centres in Ha Noi, HCM City and Da Nang and sent for testing at a laboratory in Beijing as Viet Nam has not yet built a doping test centre.

Phuong, who will lead the team at the Asian Games, said athletes had taken medical advice during training to ensure that they had avoided banned substances.

"We have proposed a VND76 billion (US$3.8 million) doping test centre project, but it has yet to be completed. However, we must control drug use among athletes who will face testing at the games. At the Beijing Olympics two years ago, gymnast Do Thi Ngan Thuong tested positive for banned substances," Phuong said.

"Coaches and doctors monitored the use of drugs and medicines the athletes took during their training, to ensure they didn't use banned substances."

Thuong was banned from competition for a year after she tested positive for diuretic furosemide at the Beijing Olympics.

As the Asian Games is the crucial sporting event this year, the sports administration has increased daily food supplements for athletes from VND120,000 to VND200,000 over a three-month period.

Earlier, the administration also gave special nutritional supplements to the 60 athletes most likely to win medals at the games.

Viet Nam announced its 260-member squad to compete in 29 of the 42 events at the 16th Asian Games two weeks ago.

The country hopes to bring home four to six gold medals to finish 15th out of the 45 participating countries and territories.

"We are targeting 12 sports in which we hope to win between four and six golds. Sepak takraw, karate, shooting, taekwondo, wushu, chess, Chinese chess, and dance sport are events in which Viet Nam hopes to win gold. Four years ago, Viet Nam won three golds at the Doha Asian Games, of which two golds were won by the sepak takraw (rattan kicking) team," Phuong explained.

A farewell ceremony will be held in Ha Noi next Sunday.

The women's and men's football teams will leave on November 1 and 5, respectively.

All athletes will officially depart for the games on November 10-11.

The sports administration is also giving immediate cash awards of VND30 million (US$1,500) to gold medal winners, in addition to the VND45 million ($2,200) award from the Government.

In Qatar four years ago, Viet Nam won three gold, 13 silver and seven bronze medals to finish 19th in the 45-country strong competition.

Viet Nam began participating in Asia's biggest sport event at New Delhi in 1982 and won a single bronze medal in shooting.

In 1994 at the Hiroshima Asian Games in Japan, Taekwondo artist Tran Quang Ha won the country's first gold medal, while Pham Hong Ha and Tran Van Thong brought home two silver medals.

At the Busan Asian Games in South Korea in 2002, the country had their best showing, winning four gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals to finish 15th. — VNS

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Judo athletes to compete at Worlds

Four Vietnamese athletes have left for the World Judo Championship that
will kick off on Sept. 9 at Tokyo's Yoyogi National Gymnasium.

Nguyen Thi Lan will compete in her first match on Sept. 11 in the
women's 57kg division. Southeast Asian queen Van Ngoc Tu will fight in
the women's 48kg division. Ho Ngan Giang and Huynh Nhat Thong will
represent Vietnam in the men's 60kg division.

The Vietnamese judokas participated in a one-month intensive training
course in China and competed in the Judo World Cup in Mongolia in
late July.

Vietnamese judokas hoped to collect
points that would give them a berth at the London Olympics in 2012, said
the National Sports Administration's judo department head Nguyen Huu
An.

The world event is a warm-up opportunity for the upcoming Asian Games in China in November.

The Vietnamese athletes will compete in the Southeast Asian Judo
Championship at the HCM City 's Phan Dinh Phung Gymnasium on
September 22-26 after returning home from Tokyo . Vietnam is viewed
as the regional powerhouses in judo after their dominant performance at
the 25th SEA Games last December in Laos where they won 18 medal
sets in both combat and performance events./.

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Judo athletes to compete at Worlds

Four Vietnamese athletes have left for the World Judo Championship that
will kick off on Sept. 9 at Tokyo's Yoyogi National Gymnasium.

Nguyen Thi Lan will compete in her first match on Sept. 11 in the
women's 57kg division. Southeast Asian queen Van Ngoc Tu will fight in
the women's 48kg division. Ho Ngan Giang and Huynh Nhat Thong will
represent Vietnam in the men's 60kg division.

The Vietnamese judokas participated in a one-month intensive training
course in China and competed in the Judo World Cup in Mongolia in
late July.

Vietnamese judokas hoped to collect
points that would give them a berth at the London Olympics in 2012, said
the National Sports Administration's judo department head Nguyen Huu
An.

The world event is a warm-up opportunity for the upcoming Asian Games in China in November.

The Vietnamese athletes will compete in the Southeast Asian Judo
Championship at the HCM City 's Phan Dinh Phung Gymnasium on
September 22-26 after returning home from Tokyo . Vietnam is viewed
as the regional powerhouses in judo after their dominant performance at
the 25th SEA Games last December in Laos where they won 18 medal
sets in both combat and performance events./.

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