Pride and regret

(Baonghean) - After many days of exciting competition, the 28th SEA Games have officially concluded. According to the media and sports officials, this is considered the most successful SEA Games in history. Many new records were set, and many new stars emerged, such as Nguyen Thi Anh Vien (Vietnam/Swimming), Joseph Schooling (Singapore/Swimming), Suthasini Sawettabut (Thailand/Table Tennis), Chanathip Songkrasin (Thailand/Football)...

Swimmer Anh Vien - the pride of Vietnamese sports. Photo: Internet

It's evident at the 28th SEA Games that the phenomenon of "low-lying areas" or "local ponds" in the region has been somewhat overcome. Leading sports nations in the region, such as Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia, have been implementing strategies to "Olympicize" their sports. Singapore still demonstrates its host nation advantage, but the gold medals they've won are all medals aimed at Olympic sports like swimming and table tennis. Thailand, in addition to its traditional strengths – dominating the region – such as football, volleyball, sepak takraw, and boxing, has invested more in shooting, yet it has still managed to bring them 14 gold medals.

For Vietnamese sports, athletics was the sport that brought home the most gold medals, with a total of 34 medals (11 gold, 15 silver, 8 bronze, breaking 7 SEA Games records), while swimming won 10 gold medals (double the number compared to SEA Games 27). Compared to SEA Games 27 in Myanmar, the Vietnamese delegation won one less gold medal at SEA Games 28 but significantly improved in terms of professional quality. Vietnam won 64 gold medals in Olympic sports, achieving a success rate of 88%. This is a very impressive number, the highest ever for Vietnamese sports at the Southeast Asian regional competition. Besides maintaining its top 3 position in the overall medal standings, Vietnamese sports also left a strong mark at the 28th SEA Games with the appearance of record-breakers such as swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien, who won 8 gold medals, 1 silver medal, and 1 bronze medal, breaking 8 SEA Games records... or the spectacular free-kick goal in the resounding 5-1 victory of Vietnam U23 against Malaysia U23 in the group stage, which was considered the most beautiful goal in men's football at the 28th SEA Games.

Despite its successes, this SEA Games still had some regrettable "blemishes," such as the East Timor U23 team's leader receiving $15,000 to fix the match between Malaysia U23 and East Timor U23, Indonesian players being accused of match-fixing in the bronze medal match against Vietnam U23, and 30% of ticketed spectators being denied entry to the closing ceremony. In a statement posted on Facebook by Singsoc (the SEA Games 28 Organizing Committee) on the afternoon of June 18th, they wrote: "There are some clear lessons to be learned from the SEA Games 28 closing ceremony. We should have done better in this area. We sincerely apologize." Nevertheless, with its dazzling display of colors at the closing ceremony, host Singapore wrote a touching and impressive conclusion to the SEA Games 28 – a competition for 11 Southeast Asian sports delegations – in a spirit of joy, relaxation, and friendship. As for the Vietnamese sports delegation, this SEA Games has brought many successes, but there are also regrets as the men's football team failed to win a medal, and the men's and women's volleyball teams were unable to surpass Thailand to claim the championship...

Duc Dung