Việt Nam sets out to reverse Olympic woes

 HÀ NỘI - An Olympic medal is a dream not only of athletes but also nations. Every four years, world elite athletes gather together to vie for glory, which for many is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

In its 40 years taking part in the global event, Việt Nam has grabbed one gold, three silvers and one bronze. The poor results at the recent Tokyo Olympics have led to national sport leaders changing their minds on Việt Nam's sport investment.

"We will change our strategy. We will not focus most on the SEA Games, a regional competition, which we have done previously. We will pay attention to the Olympics and continental Asian Games (ASIAD)," said Trần Đức Phấn, deputy director of the Việt Nam Sport Administration (VSA).

Lofty goals, yet success lacking

In 2013, a plan for Việt Nam’s sport development to 2020 was approved. It set specific targets for each competition that the country took part in.

The SEA Games was considered the most important tournament, and the Việt Nam team was required to always make the top three. 

In ASIAD, athletes and coaches must win 2-3 golds in 2014 and 10-15 golds in 2018 and rank in the top 15. 

In the Olympics, the team was asked to have up to 40 participants and win 1 or 2 medals at the 2016 Olympics. The goal was for 30-50 athletes to compete at Olympics from 2020 to 2030 and win more than two medals, including gold.

However, most tasks remain uncompleted.

The best result since 2013 is that of gold for marksman Hoàng Xuân Vinh in the Rio Olympics in 2016. 

Other remarkable achievements include a silver at the AFC Asian U23 Championship in 2018, golds for the national men's and women's football team at the AFF Cup and SEA Games in 2019, and the national men's football team making the World Cup third-round qualification for the first time.

But these results cannot cover Việt Nam's poor performance at the 2014 ASIAD where they got one gold and ranked 21st out of 45 teams. Four years later, they took four golds and placed 16th.

At the 2012 Olympics, Việt Nam sent 18 athletes but went home with nothing. At the Rio Olympics in 2016, Vinh's gold and silver helped Việt Nam stand at 48th among 206 countries.