For the first time, Vietnamese table tennis won 2 Southeast Asian team gold medals

For the first time in history, Vietnamese table tennis athletes won two gold medals in the men's and women's team events at the 2016 Southeast Asian Table Tennis Championship taking place in Indonesia.

On the afternoon of December 22, the women's table tennis team helped Vietnam's table tennis team score a double when they won 3-2 against Singapore. Earlier on December 21, the men's table tennis team also excellently defeated Singapore 3-2 to win the team championship.

Members of the Vietnamese men's and women's table tennis teams won gold medals at the 2016 Southeast Asian Championship. Photo: Nguyen Hung

Old student, new teacher

The Vietnamese team participating in the 2016 Southeast Asian Table Tennis Championship includes 8 athletes: Dinh Quang Linh, Doan Ba ​​Tuan Anh, Nguyen Anh Tu, Nguyen Duc Tuan (men), Mai Hoang My Trang, Nguyen Thi Viet Linh, Nguyen Thi Nga and Phan Hoang Tuong Giang (women), under the guidance of head coach Nguyen Nam Hai and coach Le Duc Tho.

The opponents that the two Vietnamese teams won in the final match were both Singapore - the country that has dominated table tennis in the region for many years. Looking at the list of Vietnamese team players, it can be seen that most of them are veteran athletes. However, from the selection stage to the competition, the Vietnamese table tennis team did not have any lawsuits or fights like before. When entering the match, the athletes competed fiercely and were not under any psychological pressure, helping them achieve results beyond expectations.

The newest thing in Vietnamese table tennis in the past year is the position of head of department and head coach of the national team. After Mr. Nguyen Duc Long - head of department and head coach of the Vietnamese table tennis team - retired in 2015, Mr. Phan Anh Tuan was appointed head of department by the General Department of Sports and Physical Training. In early 2016, the department proposed to select a new coach for the Vietnamese table tennis team, Coach Nguyen Nam Hai (head of Hanoi table tennis department). From February 2016 to now, Coach Nam Hai has brought many surprises to Vietnamese table tennis. In March, for the first time, he brought the women's team to 29th place in the world at the 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championship after 20 years of absence. And up to now, 2 gold medals in Indonesia are still won with the same number of athletes.

A leader of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training shared: “Coach Nam Hai studied at a sports university in China and spent time studying in Australia. With the advantage of youth, qualifications and proficiency in Chinese and English, Nam Hai has quickly created a new look for Vietnamese table tennis.”

Towards SEA Games 29

Mr. Nguyen Duc Long said that in 2008, the Vietnamese men's table tennis team won the Southeast Asian men's team gold medal in the Philippines. Among the athletes who won the gold medal at that time were coach Nguyen Nam Hai, Dinh Quang Linh, Tran Tuan Quynh and Doan Kien Quoc.

Mr. Long shared: “Singapore is still the strongest team in Southeast Asia at this time. The fact that the Vietnamese team won the team gold medal also depends on the balance of power to see if the opponents sent their strongest athletes. Normally, they will focus their strongest forces on the SEA Games because it only takes place once every two years. The results at the Southeast Asian Championship were very good, but looking at that does not fully assess our position compared to our opponents.”

For many years, table tennis has been one of the few sports that has always caused headaches for sports managers because they have to deal with lawsuits and fights in the national team all year round. Results have declined, and the budget for table tennis is therefore among the lowest, only 30,000 - 40,000 USD/year. Table tennis has no foreign experts, rarely trains abroad, and only tries to participate in 1-2 international tournaments each year.

However, with the efforts of athletes and coaches, table tennis has made people look at this once-ignored sport differently over the past year. Mr. Phan Anh Tuan shared: “Currently, athletes are very confident because they are selected to compete fairly and accurately. When entering the match, the athletes have a very good spirit, are not under pressure, so they can fully develop their abilities to compete. The head coach is very capable, so he arranges the team and plays appropriately.”

According to TTO