Vietnamese sports viewed from the perspective of the 2024 Olympics: A red alert regarding the decline.

Unpointed

Vietnamese sports have failed to appear on the medal table three times in the 2004, 2021, and 2024 Olympics out of seven editions. While this failure at the world's biggest sporting event isn't a disaster, what worries everyone is the decline in competitiveness in strong disciplines or those that have previously achieved good results, such as shooting, weightlifting, and Taekwondo.

The results of the recent competitions in Paris, with the exception of a slight disappointment for Trinh Thu Vinh in the women's 10m air pistol event where she came close to winning a medal but failed, were largely unsurprising. The gap in skill level between the Vietnamese athletes and their opponents was too large and insurmountable.

Eight years ago, shooting created the most successful Olympic Games in the history of Vietnamese sports (to date), but after Hoang Xuan Vinh, there has been a void in the next generation of athletes with the stability, ability, and confidence to shoulder the responsibility on the world stage. The momentum created since 2016 has not been enough to drive the development of the entire sport, and in the two most recent Games, shooting has failed to win any medals.

Similarly in weightlifting, Hoang Anh Tuan's silver medal (in 2008) and Tran Le Quoc Toan's bronze medal (in 2012) affirmed that the smallest weight class in the Olympic competition is a strong point for Vietnamese sports. However, since then, no weightlifter has emerged with the ability to compete for a medal in the 61kg category (replacing the 56kg category).

Vietnamese weightlifting has failed in the last three Games, and the number of athletes qualifying has also decreased. Trinh Van Vinh's efforts to overcome injury and age to return to the sport are not enough to turn hopes of winning a medal into reality, given that the skill level of his competitors has improved significantly or is steadily rising.

Similarly, Taekwondo, the martial art that brought Vietnam its first Olympic medal, has been declining ever since. Vietnamese Taekwondo failed to qualify for the 2024 Olympics and has missed the Games for the second time (the first time was in 2016).

The decline in competitiveness in key sports has made the chances of winning Olympic medals slim. Meanwhile, in sports based on strength, speed, and endurance such as swimming, athletics, cycling, rowing, and canoeing, Vietnamese athletes are still struggling to achieve success at the continental level, let alone reach the world stage.

In technically demanding and highly difficult sports like badminton, shooting, and archery, the situation is similar. Effort is recognized through the official qualifying spots that athletes painstakingly earn through long journeys in the qualifiers, but winning a medal at the Olympics is a completely different story.

The recent competition results, while disappointing, should be understood as what Vietnamese sports deserve or will receive based on its own capabilities. Three years ago, Vietnam failed to win a medal in Tokyo, and now its absence from the overall medal table in Paris reflects, first and foremost, a lack of preparation that has not met the requirements for athletes capable of winning medals.

Rework from the priority list

The 16 athletes who went to Paris (14 official spots, 2 wildcard spots) in 11 sports representing Vietnam are the result of a focused investment process within an integrated plan encompassing 16 sports from the SEA Games to the ASIAD and culminating in the Olympics. This is also the approach that the sports sector has been implementing for many years, and in fact, it has been successful at times, with Vietnam winning 6 Olympic medals in 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2016.

However, as mentioned above, the loss of Vietnam's leading sports contingent has led to a decline in medal competitiveness, inconsistent Olympic performance, and the constant risk of ending the Games empty-handed. This is also reflected in the decrease in the number of athletes qualifying for the Olympics over the last two editions. From 23 athletes in 2016, the number dropped to 18 in 2021 and further to 16 in 2024.

The difficulties on the journey to conquer the big stage were predicted even before the end of the 19th Asian Games seven months ago, when Vietnamese sports ranked behind Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore despite having led the region in the last two SEA Games. Among the reasons, failures and the inability to achieve high results in many sports and events that received significant investment were the primary causes.

"Based on the results of the 2024 Olympics, a comprehensive review and reassessment of the list of key investments is needed so that Vietnamese sports can achieve high results in major competitions such as the continental and world championships. Which sports, which events, and specifically who should receive investment must be clearly defined," shared Tran Duc Phan, former Deputy Director General of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training.

Looking at the results of countries in the Southeast Asian region, winning medals at the 2024 Olympics also depends on a very limited number of athletes who are invested in and honed to become top-tier athletes. A prime example is Carlos Yulo, who won two gold medals in gymnastics (vault and floor exercise) for the Philippines.

Or take Panipak Wongpattanakit (Thailand), who has become "unbeatable" in the 49kg Taekwondo category, winning gold medals twice in the last two Olympics. In addition, Indonesia won its first gold medal in the 73kg category with 19-year-old weightlifter Rizki Juniansyah, also in weightlifting, a sport in which they have been strong for many years. Despite their setbacks, Malaysia still secured two bronze medals in badminton, a sport in which they excel.

For Vietnamese sports, the list of 16 priority sports for investment in the Asian Games and Olympics, which has been in place for many years, needs to be reviewed. Certainly, there must be a "priority of priorities," otherwise, it will lead to a scattered approach, failing to deliver the desired results and wasting already limited resources. The failure to win medals in two consecutive Olympic Games is a concrete example of this.

Given the ineffective social mobilization and sponsorship opportunities in most sports, and the limited state funding available, along with a comparison of strengths and weaknesses with global sports, Vietnamese sports need to reconsider their approach, selecting suitable individuals and events to become a spearhead and rekindle hopes of winning medals at the Olympic Games in four years' time.