Learning from the ASIAD Games, elevating Vietnamese sports to a new level.

Expressing gratitude for the attention of the Party and the State, the coaches and athletes affirmed their determination and efforts in training and competition to achieve even higher results. As coach Nguyen Manh Hieu of athletics said, the timely attention, encouragement, and motivation from the Prime Minister have further spurred the team. He pledged to strive to train harder, further develop national sports, and bring glory to the Fatherland. With the same determination, athlete Ta Thanh Huyen of rowing affirmed that she will strive to train harder to achieve even more success.

Expressing his pleasure at meeting the outstanding figures of Vietnamese sports, on behalf of the Party and State leaders, the Prime Minister highly appreciated the achievements that the sports delegation had attained at the recent ASIAD and said that today's meeting partly reflects this appreciation.

The Prime Minister acknowledged that the delegation competed with the will and aspirations of Vietnamese sports, especially demonstrating a spirit of solidarity, high national pride, and national culture. There were no complaints about the ethics or conduct of the Vietnamese sports delegation at this Games. "Overall, the achievements of the sports delegation were outstanding," reflecting the national flag and colors.

According to the Prime Minister, the delegation achieved several important "firsts": for the first time, the men's football team reached the semi-finals; for the first time, we won a gold medal in athletics; and for the first time, we participated in the ASIAD with the largest number of athletes and the most events.

"I understand that two Pencak Silat athletes were in pain but overcame it to win gold medals," the Prime Minister stated.

The Prime Minister said he had seen images of yesterday's welcoming ceremony for the Vietnamese sports delegation and was deeply impressed by the people's affection for the team. "This is truly sincere affection. We see that when the football team advanced to the later stages of the tournament, thousands of people traveled all night on the main streets of cities across the country, but there were no clashes or arguments."

The Prime Minister emphasized that the greatest victory was the victory in the hearts of Vietnamese fans. This is the people's belief in Vietnamese sports, and the team's achievement "brings an indescribable feeling of elation."

Once again, the Prime Minister highly appreciated the coaches, athletes, sports federations, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the General Department of Physical Education and Sports, and related agencies that contributed to this victory on the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of National Day.

The Prime Minister affirmed that, despite the country's difficulties, the Party and State always pay attention to the sports sector, as demonstrated through many policies and regulations for athletes and coaches.

On this occasion, the Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the General Department of Physical Education and Sports to evaluate and draw lessons from this ASIAD to develop measures to maintain and develop the achievements, leverage strengths, and continue to elevate Vietnamese sports to new heights. Perhaps we have trained a good generation of young people; perhaps we have famous, dedicated, and responsible coaches; perhaps we have federations that have done a good job of mobilizing resources and expertise to support state agencies in sports development… According to the Prime Minister, all of these factors need to be summarized and evaluated.

The Prime Minister emphasized the need to continue implementing sports policies and laws, especially the amended Law on Physical Education and Sports, including perfecting the regime and policies for coaches and athletes; caring for and training a team of high-level coaches; upgrading facilities and equipment for training; promoting socialization to attract resources to participate in sports development; and improving the effectiveness of state management in this field. Attention should be paid to both mass sports and high-performance sports in leadership.

The Prime Minister affirmed that he will always create favorable conditions and pay attention to listening to the opinions of leaders of the Ministry of Physical Education and Sports, sports federations, and especially coaches, so that Vietnamese sports can achieve even more successes.

Regarding the issue of purchasing broadcasting rights for several sports events in the near future, the Prime Minister stated that he has assigned the Ministry of Information and Communications to handle the matter and report back to him promptly.

At the meeting, on behalf of the Party and State leaders, the Prime Minister awarded the Third-Class Labor Medal to the athletes who won gold medals at ASIAD 2018 and presented gifts to individuals with outstanding achievements.