Joy and tears

(Baonghean) -Every two years, 11 Southeast Asian countries send their elite athletes to participate in the largest sports event in the region. In addition to competing for noble medals, they are a bridge to promote the national image, strengthen friendship and solidarity. Goodbye Myanmar, goodbye SEA Games 27 with much joy but also no shortage of sadness. Now is the time for us to look back at the tournament and look forward to the next SEA Games in the lion island of Singapore and higher arenas.

Before coming to Myanmar, the Vietnamese sports delegation had anticipated the difficulties that lay ahead. But with the achievement of 73 gold medals, 86 silver medals and 86 bronze medals, ranking 3rd overall, it can be affirmed that Vietnamese sports have completed the task set before the 27th SEA Games. To achieve that achievement, the athletes and coaches had to make great efforts in training and competing. The 3rd overall position is even more meaningful when the host country has eliminated many events in the Olympic competition system such as: gymnastics, fencing, many weight classes in wrestling...

The joy of Nguyen Thi Kim Hoang (Vovinam gold medal). Photo: VNA

...and tears of Duy Nhat - Bui Thi Quynh (Muay Thai silver medal). Photo: VTC news

Over the years, track and field competitions have always been the "gold mine" of Vietnamese sports. And this time was no exception, the track and field athletes brought home 10 gold medals and many other silver and bronze medals for our sports delegation. It can be affirmed that they have completed their targets in the context of always being oppressed by the referees. Many tears of injustice were shed on the track, on the mat or on the podium... For example, the walker Nguyen Thanh Phuc, her level has surpassed the regional level and reached the regional and world level. However, she could not win the Gold Medal in the "village pond". What surprised many fans was that the unknown athlete in the host region of Myanmar was not caught by the referee for her mistake while walking and running, and as a result, she finished first, pushing Thanh Phuc down to second place.

On the podium to receive the medal, she cried because she was so upset, but her tears only received sympathy from fans and could not change the results of the competition. "It's a lowland, sometimes you have to accept it" is a bitter saying of many countries when participating in the SEA Games on foreign soil. Or the Muay World Champion Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat beat his opponent around the arena but was still declared defeated; Coach Nguyen Thi Huyen Dieu covered her face and cried outside the arena when her student was unfairly defeated... The indignation exploded because after months of hard training, sweat, tears and blood waiting for the moment to enter the arena to bring glory to herself and the Fatherland, the result received came from the lack of impartiality of the referees. They disregarded everything for the sake of immediate achievements, making the picture of the SEA Games increasingly darker, losing the true value of the spirit of sportsmanship - Fair-Play.

The biggest failure of Vietnamese sports at the 27th SEA Games was men's football. Before leaving for Myanmar, the U23 team received great expectations from fans, but what they achieved was disappointment. Deadlocked in attack, careless in defense, soulless and uncharacteristic playing style, finishing like amateur players... left many regrets for fans.

Behind the tears of Thanh Phuc and some other athletes, after the disappointment of men's football, we still have many reasons to be happy. Typically, the return of "speed queen" Vu Thi Huong in the short distance running, she conquered 2 gold medals in the 100m and 200m events. Or of soldier Nguyen Van Lai (2 gold medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m events); Pham Thi Binh - a girl from Quang Ngai with bare feet and once had trouble with heart disease to stand on the highest podium in the sport that requires a lot of physical strength, the marathon...

Also bringing much joy to this SEA Games is the maturity of the athletes on the green track. In the past, Vietnamese swimming has never been highly appreciated because Singapore, Thailand or Indonesia are too strong for us. But this SEA Games is completely different, the swimmers brought home a total of 12 medals (5 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze). It can be said that Vietnamese swimming has made great strides in recent times. Among them, the name that deserves to be mentioned the most is Anh Vien.

The girl born in the land of rivers Phong Dien (Can Tho), first participated in the 2011 SEA Games at the age of 15 and caused a big surprise with 2 silver medals. 2 years later, she had a huge breakthrough when she won 3 individual gold medals (200m backstroke, 200m and 400m medley) and broke 2 SEA Games records, thereby ending the "gold thirst" of the SEA Games for Vietnamese women's swimming that had existed for 54 years. If the referee had not "played dirty", she could have won 1 more gold medal, but with only 3 gold medals, she was already the best swimmer in the Vietnamese swimming community. Contributing to the overall success of Vietnamese swimming were swimmer Hoang Quy Phuoc (gold medal in the 200m freestyle) and Lam Quang Nhat, who shocked with a gold medal in the 1,500m swimming distance.

In the past SEA Games, martial arts always brought the most medals to Vietnamese sports. The 27th SEA Games was no exception. Although martial arts competitions are always judged by referees based on their feelings, especially in the performance categories, martial arts athletes won 42 gold medals out of a total of 73 gold medals of Vietnamese sports. If the referees were more impartial in these events, the achievements that martial arts brought would certainly not be just 42.

After the 27th SEA Games, the high-achieving athletes will prepare to continue training for bigger competitions before going to Singapore to participate in the 28th SEA Games. The smiles of victory and the tears of defeat are all gone. Hopefully, after the 27th SEA Games, Vietnamese sports will bring back more success, especially the U23 team will realize the dream of "changing the color" of the medals.

South Scene