Anh Vien and 12 Vietnamese athletes leave for the Youth Olympics

The meeting of the Vietnamese sports delegation on their way to the Youth Olympics held in Nanning, China from August 13 to 29 took place on the afternoon of August 12 at the General Department of Sports and Physical Training.

The meeting took place in a friendly and warm atmosphere. (Photo: Minh Chien/Vietnam+)

The Vietnamese sports delegation has a total of 29 members led by Director of the Department of High Performance Sports Tran Duc Phan. Excluding coaches and officials, the delegation has 13 athletes competing in 7 sports including: weightlifting, swimming, gymnastics, taekwondo, badminton, rowing and beach volleyball. In addition, 3 wushu athletes were selected to perform at the Olympics.

The meeting took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere under the leadership of Deputy Director General of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training Lam Quang Thanh. Mr. Thanh kindly asked and encouraged each athlete. He encouraged the athletes to interact, learn and exchange with their opponents and friends around the world. “Keep a smile on your face” was the advice that the Deputy Director General repeated over and over again.

Mr. Thanh also confirmed that at exactly 8:30 tomorrow morning (August 13), the Vietnamese delegation will depart from Noi Bai airport. At 2:00 p.m., the delegation will enter the Olympic village in Nanning. The weather in Nanning is currently quite hot. The Vietnamese athletes will have to pay special attention to this to maintain their health.

The 2014 Youth Olympic Games will feature 204 countries and territories. At the previous Olympics, weightlifter Thach Kim Tuan won a gold medal. That gold medal is also the target of the Vietnamese delegation in Nanning this month. The biggest hope is of course placed on Nguyen Thi Anh Vien (swimming) - who is training in the US and will fly straight to Nanning in the next few days.

Besides Anh Vien, Tran Duy Khoi (swimming) and Pham Cao Cuong (badminton) are also big hopes. The 1.82 m tall tennis player was also chosen to be the flag bearer for the Vietnamese delegation at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics.

Why not summon Ly Hoang Nam?

Mr. Tran Duc Phan also explained the decision not to call Ly Hoang Nam to participate in the Youth Olympics in Nanning. Hoang Nam is currently considered the top young tennis player in Vietnam, the number one hope for the country's tennis in the future: "This is an athlete with very good prospects. But after considering the athletes participating in the Olympics, this athlete is being disciplined by the Vietnam Tennis Federation. Athletes who have been disciplined are not allowed to participate in the Vietnamese sports delegation."

According to VNA