SEA Games 29: Swimming - the second shock

(Baonghean.vn) - "Athletes Lam Quang Nhat and Nguyen Huy Hoang will compete in the 1,500m swimming event. Athlete Nguyen Huu Kim Son will compete in the 200m and 400m events" -Head of the Vietnamese delegation at SEA Games 29 Tran Duc Phan confirmed. Thus,Quang Nhat - the current SEA Games champion for 2 consecutive terms and holding the SEA Games record in this event, despite not taking the test, is still on the list..

As Nghe An Electronic posted in the article “SEA Games 29: Swimming - the first shock” starting from the controversy over the organization of internal competitions. Next, Quang Nhat, the defending champion of the SEA Games for 2 consecutive times and holding the SEA Games record at the last minute, was still on the list despite refusing to compete for the test.nto many people's surprise.

Many times, General Director of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training Vuong Bich Thang expressed his firm stance: "If Lam Quang Nhat refuses to compete in the test, he will not be allowed to participate in the 29th SEA Games". What made the General Department of Sports and Physical Training change its stance so quickly?

For the national interest

On the morning of August 8, the swimming department organized for Quang Nhat, Huy Hoang and Kim Son to compete in the 1,500m distance in Ho Chi Minh City. Because the 29th SEA Games 1,500m distance can only register 2 athletes, the General Department of Sports and Physical Training and the coaching staff of the national swimming team proposed an internal competition, choosing the 2 best people to participate in the 29th SEA Games.

Athletes Lam Quang Nhat (in photo) and Nguyen Huy Hoang will compete in the 1,500m freestyle swimming event. Photo: NVCC

However, Ho Chi Minh City refused to let Lam Quang Nhat compete. According to Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports Mai Ba Hung, Quang Nhat had just returned from training in China, so it would be disadvantageous for him to compete. His target is the 29th SEA Games.

As a result, Huy Hoang finished with a time of 15 minutes 22 seconds, Kim Son's result was 15 minutes 42 seconds, much lower than the result of 15 minutes 29 seconds 90 at the World Championship on July 29. Competing in a "2 choose 2" style without much pressure, but Kim Son's result was still far lower than Lam Quang Nhat's SEA Games record of 15 minutes 31 seconds 03, which made the swimming coaching staff nervous.

In the end, the Vietnamese sports delegation had to return to the original plan of Kim Son only practicing and accumulating experience for the SEA Games later. Quang Nhat's experience and stability were rated higher than Kim Son's outstanding achievement at the World Championship on July 29 in Hungary.

A decision by the General Department of Sports and Physical Training is considered wise and reasonable after the controversies that have been raging in recent days. This is also considered a shocking decision, after the strong statements of Vietnamese sports officials!

Question marks remain

Those who are knowledgeable about sports, especially swimming, know that the athlete's stable training results over the past 2 years are what's important, not the sudden results of a competition that confirms the athlete's ability.

Swimmer Kim Son just achieved a time of 15 minutes 29 seconds 90 at the World Championship on July 29 in Budapest, Hungary, but less than 10 days later in Ho Chi Minh City, he only achieved a test result of 15 minutes 42 seconds, which is the most specific example. Why doesn't the coaching board know the technical parameters during the athletes' training to decide on selection, but instead organizes a test competition right before the departure date?

So, in the end, what was the point of changing the original plan, rushing to organize an internal competition and then not basing the selection of athletes on the competition results?

During the training process to prepare for the 29th SEA Games, while Quang Nhat trained in Kunming (China) under the guidance of foreign experts, Huy Hoang went to Can Tho to train with the curriculum of Chinese experts.

Swimmer Huy Hoang is a big hope in the 1,500m freestyle event. Photo: NVCC

Meanwhile, Kim Son, 15 years old, is an athlete of the An Giang unit where the head coach of the national swimming team Dang Anh Tuan is working. Before leaving Ho Chi Minh City to join An Giang, Kim Son's family had to send petitions for help to many places after continuous disputes with Ho Chi Minh City sports managers. Could that be the source of the disputes when selecting the team?

The scandals and results of the three swimmers appeared all over the newspapers, unintentionally revealing information to regional opponents, especially Singapore and Thailand, the countries competing for medals with us. Have we considered this? Fortunately, because there was no test competition, Quang Nhat's results are still a mystery.

After all, who will be responsible for psychological work for both Kim Son and Quang Nhat before they leave for Malaysia to compete? Hopefully, this will be a valuable lesson for Vietnamese sports managers!

AT