More than 600 athletes, coaches and officials took part in a ceremony tosend off Vietnam 's 26th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games squad at Hanoi's Opera House on Oct. 31.
The ceremony is traditionally held to boost athlete morale and confidence before the competition begins.
" Vietnam 's delegation is ready for the Games as they have trainedhard at sports training centres nationwide," said head of the nationalsquad Lam Quang Thanh.
The nation's sportsmen and womenwill compete in 36 events at the Games and do their utmost againstpowerhouses including Thailand , Malaysia , Singapore and thehosts to bag a target of at least 70 gold medals. The nation also aimsto end the Games as one of the top three in the medal rankings.
"The team will play undauntedly to gain every gold medal with the highest disciplinary spirit," Thanh said.
One of the toughest tasks for Vietnam belongs to the men's under-23football team in its quest for top honours. In addition, Vietnamhope to secure gold in 14 martial arts events, including karate, wushu,taekwondo and judo, and to compete strongly in chess, weightlifting,billiards and snooker.
"The team will obey the Games'regulations as well as raise their national pride," said Hoang Tuan Anh,minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism. "Through the event, the teamwill spread the image of Vietnamese people and a country that is veryfriendly, peaceful and hospitable."
The Games will be heldin Indonesia from November 11 to 22, hosted jointly by Palembang(the capital city of South Sumatra ) and Jakarta (the capital city ofIndonesia ) as co-host. Palembang will be staging 296 events,while Jakarta will be holding a total of 266 events.
Indonesia has already hosted the SEA Games three times, in 1979, 1987, and 1997, all hosted in Jakarta .
At the 25th SEA Games held in Laos two years ago, Vietnam won 83 gold,75 silver and 57 bronze medals to rank second on the medal tally, justbehind Thailand./.
The ceremony is traditionally held to boost athlete morale and confidence before the competition begins.
" Vietnam 's delegation is ready for the Games as they have trainedhard at sports training centres nationwide," said head of the nationalsquad Lam Quang Thanh.
The nation's sportsmen and womenwill compete in 36 events at the Games and do their utmost againstpowerhouses including Thailand , Malaysia , Singapore and thehosts to bag a target of at least 70 gold medals. The nation also aimsto end the Games as one of the top three in the medal rankings.
"The team will play undauntedly to gain every gold medal with the highest disciplinary spirit," Thanh said.
One of the toughest tasks for Vietnam belongs to the men's under-23football team in its quest for top honours. In addition, Vietnamhope to secure gold in 14 martial arts events, including karate, wushu,taekwondo and judo, and to compete strongly in chess, weightlifting,billiards and snooker.
"The team will obey the Games'regulations as well as raise their national pride," said Hoang Tuan Anh,minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism. "Through the event, the teamwill spread the image of Vietnamese people and a country that is veryfriendly, peaceful and hospitable."
The Games will be heldin Indonesia from November 11 to 22, hosted jointly by Palembang(the capital city of South Sumatra ) and Jakarta (the capital city ofIndonesia ) as co-host. Palembang will be staging 296 events,while Jakarta will be holding a total of 266 events.
Indonesia has already hosted the SEA Games three times, in 1979, 1987, and 1997, all hosted in Jakarta .
At the 25th SEA Games held in Laos two years ago, Vietnam won 83 gold,75 silver and 57 bronze medals to rank second on the medal tally, justbehind Thailand./.
