The 87-member contingent will join nearly2,000 student athletes in Singapore, which is hosting the annual ASG for thesecond time, since its introduction in 2009. This year’s event also coincideswith the 50th anniversary of ASEAN. This is the first time all the 10member-countries will be competing together.
ASG 2017’s theme is “Together as ONE,”representing the goal of ASEAN youths to achieve solidarity through schoolsports, friendly competition and cultural exchange. During the seven-daycompetition, events in 10 sports, including basketball, tennis, badminton,tenpin bowling and volleyball will be held.
Vietnamese competitors will take part infour sports, including athletics, table tennis, swimming and gymnastics.
“Vietnam students have been preparing wellfor the games, but we have not set any target for them. We expect them to learnand exchange knowledge with friends, with a view to narrow the gap between theregional students and to promote friendship among participating members of theASG,” said Nguyen Thi Nghia, deputy minister of education and training.
Nghia said Vietnamese students would competefor national pride. They will try their best to show their friends thedevelopment Vietnam has achieved in sport, especially among its students, hesaid.
Vietnamese athletes are expecting to win inathletics, table tennis and gymnastics, as they have performed well in thesedisciplines in different competitions ahead of the games.
Among the athletes, Nguyen Trung Cuong(boys’ 2.000m steeplechase), Ngo Thi Khanh Ny (girls’ 2.000m steeplechase) and BuiThi Trang (girls’ 400m hurdle) have the potential to win titles. All of themqualified to take part in the ongoing world International Association AthleticsFederation’s World U18 Championship in Kenya after their outstandingperformance at the Asian Youth Athletics Championships in Thailand in May.
Cuong won a gold, Ny took a silver, whileTrang was fourth in their respective categories.
Because of the lack of cash, they could notcompete in Kenya but are now focussing on the Singapore Games.
The ASG’s opening ceremony will be held atthe Singapore Indoor Stadium tonight. This will be followed by five days ofcompetition until July 19.
ASG is the annual games for ASEAN schools.Organised under the auspices of the ASEAN Schools Sports Council (ASSC), it isan apolitical regional sports organisation that promotes sports amongst themember countries.
ASG is expected to promote ASEAN solidarityin our youth through school sports. Through the games, school athletes have achance to benchmark their sporting talents in the region. They also caninteract and engage in cultural exchange within ASEAN.
In last year’s games, Vietnam finished with19 gold medals. Hosts Thailand topped the ranking with 56 titles, followed byIndonesia with 30.-VNA