Vietnam team's SEA Games sending off ceremony on April 28 in Hanoi. (Photo: Vietnam+) Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam's athletes are ready to compete at the coming 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and will bring home the best results.
Vietnam Team chief-de-mission Tran Duc Phan declared that Vietnam's athletes are ready to compete at the coming 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and will bring home the best results.
“After months of careful and responsible preparation, Vietnamese athletes, coaches, experts and other members are confident and ready to compete at the 31st SEA Games,” said Phan at the sending-off ceremony on April 28 in Hanoi. He is also deputy head of the SEA Games Organising Committee.
He said more than 1,400 athletes and nearly 300 coaches have been summoned to represent the country at the regional event.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has strongly affected their preparations, along with many other difficulties, the team has received strong support from the government and sponsors to be ready to give their best performance.
They have set a target of 140 gold medals from 40 sports to top the overall medal tally. In particular, they will defend their No.1 position in both men’s and women’s competitions.
“On behalf of the delegation, I take the assignment. Our athletes will compete with all of their effort and determination to bring home gold medals,” said Phan.
Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh attended the ceremony and he said he wished Vietnamese athletes a successful SEA Games to lift Viet Nam’s position in the world of sports.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Prime Minister Minh said SEA Games is not only a sports competition but also a festival, where athletes will join together to strengthen the solidarity and development of ASEAN countries, following the Games’ slogan: “For a Stronger Southeast Asia”.
“I recognise and appreciate the effort of the committees, organisations and individuals, especially the athletes and coaches, to overcome the many challenges in organising and taking part in the event,” said Deputy Prime Minister Minh.
He asked each member of the delegation to be well aware of the glorious tasks entrusted by the Party and State. Participants should always strive in the spirit of solidarity, with the highest intelligence and determination for national pride. The should compete to achieve the best results at the Games to raise the position of Vietnamese Sports to new heights and affirm the long-standing cultural tradition of Vietnam.
Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh speaks at the Vietnam Team's SEA Games sending off ceremony on April 28 in Hanoi. (Photo: Vietnam+) On behalf of athletes, swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang promised to do their best to secure the highest results while respecting regulations and sportsmanship.
The team will compete in all 40 sports organised in Hanoi and 11 nearby localities.
Vietnam targets 140 gold medals to top the regional biennial sport meet that they host for the second time, following the first time in 2003.
Vietnam will not have all of its best athletes, such as Olympian winning marksman Hoang Xuan Vinh, who now works as a coach; multi-time SEA Games swimming champion Nguyen Thi Anh Vien, who has retired from international competition; and WBO boxing champion Nguyen Thi Thu Nhi, who is busy with the world championship organised at the same time as the Games; and sprint queen Le Tu Chinh, who suffered a knee injury and cannot recover in time.
However, the hosts are still confident with many other golden faces such as swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang, chess prodigy Le Quang Liem, runner Nguyen Thi Oanh and taekwondo fighter Truong Thi Kim Tuyen.
At the previous Games in the Philippines, Vietnam placed second behind the hosts, bringing home 98 golds, 86 silvers and 105 bronzes./.
The Vietnamese sports delegation sets a goal of defending their No.1 position in both men’s and women’s competitions for 31st SEA Games. (Photo: Vietnam+) 
The Vietnamese sports delegation offers incense to President Ho Chi Minh before leaving for the 31st SEA Games. (Photo: Vietnam+) 
