Olympic champion Hoang Xuan Vinh (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The upcoming ISSF World Cup in India is the lastchance for Vietnamese shooters to earn spots in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Olympic champion Hoang Xuan Vinh and his teammate Tran Quoc Cuong are traininghard in the Republic of Korea for the event.
Both Vinh and Cuong will shoot in the men’s 10m air pistol category.
Vinh, 46, made history by taking his country's first gold medal in the men’s10m air pistol event and a silver in the men’s 50m slow fire pistol at theOlympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Since then, Vinh has struggled to live upto his potential in international, continental and regional tournaments.
However, Vinh and Cuong are both tipped for success in the World Cup in Indiaon March 15-25.
“This year, the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) will chooseathletes to Olympic based on their standings in the world rankings. This strictcalculation requires shooters to gain high achievements at World Cup events,”said Nguyen Thi Nhung, head coach of the national shooting team and generalsecretary of the Vietnam Shooting Federation.
At present, Vinh and Cuong are ranked among the world’s top 25 in the men’s 10mair pistol. To seal a place in Tokyo, they will have to break into the top 16or 17. This means the two Vietnamese marksmen will need to make the podium inIndia next month.
According to Nhung, Vinh needs to stabilise his psychology to play well.
“In terms of technique, Vinh is second to none. The problem here is psychology.Not only Vinh, but most good shooters in the world are also under greatpressure. I have met many coaches and shooters in the world and I felt thisclearly,” said Nhung.
“I will come to the Republic of Korea later this month to support specialistPark Chung-gun to offer technical and tactical exercises for Vinh and Cuong. Wewill make every effort to gain success in this Olympic qualifying round,” Nhungadded.
Vietnam eyeing 20 Olympic spots
According to the National Sports Administration, Vietnam has set a target of 20berths at the upcoming Olympic Games to begin on July 24.
Vietnam currently has four spots thanks to swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang, gymnast LeThanh Tung and archers Hoang Phi Vu and Do Thi Anh Nguyet.
Until June, Vietnamese athletes will compete at international tournaments toearn ranking points in hopes of qualification for the Games in women’sfootball, athletics, shooting, taekwondo, weightlifting and more.
However, the target of 20 places may be tough due to the outbreak of the acuterespiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which haspostponed or cancelled many events, affecting athletes’ preparations.
“The epidemic affects many fields of life including sport. It affects thepreparation of teams for the world’s biggest sports event. Recently, theInternational Olympic Committee changed the venue for the Asia Boxing Championshipin China in February to Jordan in March. So Asian champion Nguyen Thi Tam willhave to train for another month. Maybe this will affect her form,” said HoangQuoc Vinh, head of the Elite Sports Department of National SportsAdministration.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese taekwondo fighters have had their Asian TaekwondoChampionship preparations thrown into doubt.
“The team are training in the Republic of Korea and waiting for the new place.The Olympic qualifying round was planned to take place in China, but now itwill be in Jordan or Iran in April. Anyway, we are on the defensive,” said VuXuan Thanh, general secretary of the Vietnam Taekwondo Federation.
“However, we still put our belief in Asian champion Truong Thi Kim Tuyen andworld junior champion Ho Thi Kim Ngan in the women’s 49kg division,” said Thanh.
“To avoid confusion, we often encourage teams to keep calm and train with thehighest focus. Coaches and athletes continue to complete their lesson plansevery day, ready to do their Olympic task,” said Vinh./.
VNA
