The national men's volleyball team train in Hanoi. (Photo: daidoanket.vn)But this is no easy feat, as theyface tough competition in the group stages.
There are five teams in thewomen's group with the two best teams advancing to the final.
Vietnam have been in thegold-medal match nine times but have never won. And Thailand will be thebiggest challenge for the hosts.
They have won the title 13 timesin a row and defeated Vietnam in eight finals.
"Thailand are in higherlevel compared to ASEAN teams," national head coach Thai Thanh Tung of the women's teamtold Vietnam News.
"They are world-class andare definitely the title favourites. Thailand will play with several youngplayers but despite their age they are still powerful.
"Because of the tournament'sround-robin formula, we have to win at least three matches to be in the final.On the way to get there, Thailand will take one, then Indonesia are clearlythe team who will fight us for the other spot."
Indonesia, who nearly missed thisGames because of financial shortage, threatened Vietnam's second place sincethe 2019 Games but failed. This year they set a higher target to win a gold.
"Our strong rivals are justone of the many difficulties that we have faced during our preparation," said Tung.
"Almost all of my playerswere positive with COVID-19 and were isolated. They have only been trainingsince March.
"The pandemic also preventedus from taking part in training camps abroad. Instead we will justhave a couple of weeks in Ninh Binh starting in the next fewdays. We have only one month left to lift the team. In the SEA Games, everymatch is a final."
This year, Tung will havetalented player Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen, the best spiker of the 2021national championship, in his team after she refused in the past to takepart due to personal reasons.
The coach also welcomed back hisskipper Tran Thi Thanh Thuy who just finished her spell in Japan's V.League.
The return of veteran Nguyen ThiNgoc Hoa, one of the best Vietnamese players, will also help her youngteammates gain confidence.
One the men's side, Vietnam arein Group A with defending champions Indonesia, Myanmar and Malaysia after thedraw took place on Friday. Group B has silver medallists Philippines andthird-placed Thailand.
Vietnam have only twice advancedto the final match in the 2007 and 2015 SEA Games. Three years ago, the teamwere eliminated from the group round after three losses.
"A gold medal mission isreally putting high pressure on us," said assistant coach Tran Dinh Tien.
"COVID-19 was a bigchallenge for us with no international competitions and trainingcamps and we also couldn't assess the other teams' capacity."
"But head coach Li HuanNing is very confident after working with us for nearly a year. We have hadgood preparation for seven months and players are fluent with tactics and goodin technique."
After taking charge of the teamlast May, Li, from China, held talks with the local coaching board and theVietnam Volleyball Federation. He confirmed his mission was to lead Vietnam tothe top podium.
"I want to take SEA Gamesgold medal. This task will put heavy pressure on players but also push them aswell. In fact, other teams are strong but my assistants and I mapped out plansto help Vietnam improve."
Coach Tien added: "Weare getting better, but so are our rivals. Our first step is to advance to thesemis. In Group A, our direct rival is Myanmar. Beating them means we arecloser to the last four rounds.
"We will do everything tocomplete our mission."
The men's team will take part ina 10-day training course in Nha Trang from April 15. They will have severalfriendly matches against local Sanest Khanh Hoa Club before moving to trainat Quang Ninh province's Dai Yen Gymnasium which hosts volleyball eventsfrom May 13-22.
The video challenger system willbe applied at the 31st SEA Games to help referees officiate their matcheswell./.
VNA
