10 outstanding Vietnamese sports events in 2013

A busy year of Vietnamese sports (TTVN) ended with the journey of our athletes at the 27th SEA Games. This is also the time for domestic experts and fans to look back at the most outstanding events of the year.

1. A bad year for football teams

The U23 Vietnam team was eliminated right after the group stage, the women's team could not successfully defend the SEA Games championship. Before that, the national men's football team lost embarrassingly in the 2015 Asian Cup qualifiers, with a record that no one wanted to have: 5 consecutive defeats.

All of these failures, combined with the chaotic domestic tournament due to XM Xuan Thanh Saigon leaving the V-League, created a dark picture for domestic football this year. These consecutive failures are ultimately the result of lax youth training and poor direction from those who are in charge of managing Vietnamese football.

U23 Vietnam ended a disastrous year for domestic football by being humiliatedly eliminated from the 27th SEA Games.

In that context, the strong impression that the U19 Vietnam team made in the Southeast Asian tournament and the Asian qualifiers was like a cool breeze blowing into the drought of domestic football. The current U19 generation is also our greatest hope in the near future.

2. Vietnam sports delegation completed the target at SEA Games 27

With 73 gold medals, 86 silver medals and 86 bronze medals, the Vietnamese sports delegation achieved both the gold medal target (70 or more) and the ranking target (in the top 3 countries). Of the 73 gold medals that the delegation won, the two basic sports including athletics and swimming were notably successful. Athletics won 10 gold medals for the first time (the most ever), while swimming won 5 gold medals, surpassing the achievement of no more than 2 gold medals at each SEA Games.

Pham Thi Binh (women's marathon gold medal) contributed to helping the Vietnamese sports delegation complete the target at the SEA Games.

3. The rise of Anh Vien and a host of talents in swimming

In the context where Hoang Quy Phuoc is not old, but is considered old compared to the rapid rise of many new talents on the green track. That is Nguyen Thi Anh Vien who astonishes her opponents in the Southeast Asian region every time she dives into the water, that is Lam Quang Nhat who succeeds in the most unexpected event (1,500m).

This talented young force ensures that Vietnamese swimming will continue to maintain its position for a few more SEA Games, as well as opening up prospects for higher arenas such as the Asian Games and the Olympics, of course if they are properly invested. Especially among them is Anh Vien, the female swimmer who is currently the biggest challenger to her opponents in the Southeast Asian swimming community, as well as one of the best athletes at the 27th SEA Games.

Anh Vien becomes the new symbol of victory of VTV

4. Le Quang Liem is the world blitz chess champion.

June 10 can be considered a historic day for Vietnamese chess. For the first time, we have a player who won the world championship in the blitz chess category. Although many strong players such as Anand (India), Nakamura (Japan)… did not participate in this tournament, Le Quang Liem’s success cannot be denied.

Thanks to the help of teammate Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (who defeated Quang Liem's ​​direct opponent, Ruslan Ponomariov), Le Quang Liem became the first Vietnamese to win this noble title.

5. Hoang Xuan Vinh won the gold medal at the World Shooting Cup.

Always competing with his biggest rival, Luong Tri Vi, from the qualifying round to the final round, Hoang Xuan Vinh finally surpassed him with a total score of 200.8 points, 0.7 points more than Luong Tri Vi, winning the gold medal in the men's 10m air pistol event. That was the first gold medal for Vietnamese shooting at the world level.

6. Gymnastics empty-handed at world championships

This is within the experts' predictions. Despite winning many gold medals at international tournaments, when entering the World Championships in Belgium, the Vietnamese gymnastics team with names like Phan Thi Ha Thanh, Nguyen Ha Thanh... could not win any medals. Simply because the opponent was too strong and we needed to make further progress if we wanted to reach the world level.

7. Tennis player Ly Hoang Nam won gold medal at Asian Youth Games

Similar to Le Quang Liem's ​​world blitz chess championship, Ly Hoang Nam's victory in the men's singles tennis event at the Asian Youth Games was the first time the event had come to Vietnam. Hoang Nam won the tournament after defeating Mendoza Zosimo in the final match.

In October, Hoang Nam won the ITF U18 tournament in Bangkok (Thailand), climbing to ITF rank 95, becoming the first Vietnamese teenage tennis player to enter the top 100.

8. Arsenal (England) comes to Vietnam

Not coming to attend an official tournament, but the fact that a top European club like Arsenal (England) came to Vietnam can be called a big event, because before that it was very difficult for us to invite big clubs to play friendly matches.

Podolski and "Running man" Vu Xuan Tien

For the first time, Arsenal, one of the four most famous football teams in the UK, the world's top class, had an exhibition match at My Dinh Stadium. Arsenal's visit to Vietnam could create a good effect, in that we can invite other clubs to come.

Also on the occasion of Arsenal's arrival in Vietnam, another unusual event occurred involving the character of "Running Man" Vu Xuan Tien, who unexpectedly jogged along with the Arsenal team bus on a long journey of many kilometers, before "running straight" to Emirates Stadium at the special invitation of this club.

9. Nguyen Tien Minh's sad farewell to badminton

Never before has Tien Minh had such a great opportunity to win the SEA Games men's singles gold medal, as all of Southeast Asia's strongest opponents withdrew from the tournament. However, Vietnam's No. 1 tennis player once again disappointed, losing to an opponent ranked below him in the world rankings.

This defeat once again reflects the instability of Tien Minh, a player currently ranked in the world's top 10. And it is a pity because at the 27th SEA Games (most likely Minh's last SEA Games), Vietnamese badminton will have a long time to find a player capable of being in the top... 100.

10. Vietnam delegation ranked 3rd at the Asian Indoor Sports and Martial Arts Games

Along with the 27th SEA Games, the 4th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG 4) is the event that the Vietnamese sports delegation sent a large number of athletes to participate. We ranked 3rd out of 45 countries present at this event, just behind the two continental sports superpowers, China and South Korea.

However, like many sports at the SEA Games, most of the sports at AIMAG are not of interest to the rest of the world (Go, kurash, kababdi, kick-boxing, bowling, Muay, dance sport...), so the resonance of this congress is not great.

According to Dan Tri