Olympics 2016: Vietnamese Sports, Numbers and Hope

(Baonghean.vn) - With 23 athletes from 10 teams - including 10 male athletes and 13 female athletes present in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) to participate in the 2016 Olympics, this is the Games in which Vietnamese sports has the largest and most diverse number of athletes.

Up to now, Nguyen Tien Minh (badminton) is the only athlete of Vietnamese sports to have qualified for the Olympics 3 times. Most surprisingly, his girlfriend Vu Thi Trang is also present in Rio de Janeiro, they are the only couple of Vietnamese sports to attend the same Olympics. Right after the end of the Games, the two will hold a wedding, retire from competition and switch to coaching.

Departure ceremony of the Vietnamese sports delegation.

The luckiest athlete was Do Thi Anh (sabre) when she won the wild card in the 89th minute. Although she did not pass the qualifying round and only finished 4th, she was unexpectedly promoted because the New Zealand athlete was stripped of her qualification.

If shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh, 42 years old this year, is considered the "oldest", athlete Nguyen Thi Anh Vien (swimmer), 20 years old, is considered the youngest of the Vietnam Sports Delegation. Not only that, this youngest girl also has the right to compete in 4 events at the 2016 Olympics including 200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 400m medley, 200m medley. However, with the goal of reaching the final, it is likely that Anh Vien will skip the 200m freestyle event. Although she is the "star" of Vietnam Sports Delegation, the gap between her current achievement and the athlete who won the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics is about 6-7 seconds, which is truly a huge challenge.

The “fencers” continue to be trusted to hold the flag, athlete Nguyen Tien Nhat held the flag at the 2012 London Olympics, and this time the honor goes to fencer Vu Thanh An, 1.80m tall. Competition achievements, good looks and ideal height… are important criteria when choosing the person to hold the flag at the biggest sports event on the planet.

Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

The goal of "winning a medal" for Vietnam's sports team is placed heavily on the shoulders of 3 athletes: Hoang Xuan Vinh (shooting, competing on August 6); Vuong Thi Huyen (women's 48kg weightlifting, competing on August 7); and Thach Kim Tuan (men's 56kg weightlifting, competing on August 8).
According to the World Shooting Federation rankings, shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh is ranked 6th in the men's 10m air pistol category. To win a medal, he needs to compete with very strong shooters including: Pablo (Spain, 5th), Jongoh (Korea, 4th), Jitu (India, 3rd), Oleh (Ukraine, 2nd) and 1st place is Almeida of host Brazil. At the 2012 London Olympics, Xuan Vinh shot very well in the first 8 rounds but in the last round he scored low, losing the Bronze Medal due to a lack of 0.1 points. Then, at the 2014 Asian Games (ASIAD), when it seemed like he would win a Gold Medal, he was startled and let the gun go off in the last round and dropped to 13th place.

Weightlifter Thach Kim Tuan is currently suffering from a knee injury, so he cannot train hard. Kim Tuan's best result is 296kg. Meanwhile, the opponents he has to overcome are current Olympic champion Om Yun Chol (North Korea) and former Olympic champion Long Qing Quan (China), both of whom have achieved a total lift of more than 300kg. Weightlifter Vuong Thi Huyen, although she has just won the Asian Silver Medal, is still 7-10kg behind the 2012 Olympic medalists. Not a small gap!

In the context of not placing too much emphasis on achievements, but answering BNA reporters before leaving for Rio de Janeiro, wrestling coach Nguyen The Long said: If we are lucky in the draw and on a beautiful day, our two female wrestlers Nguyen Thi Lua (53kg) and Vu Thi Hang (48kg) may also have a chance to compete for medals.

Let's wait for good news from Rio de Janeiro!

N@T