Vietnam U23 team were welcomed by fans nationwide following their outstanding performance at the AFC U23 Championship in China last January. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Since itsinception 72 years ago (1946-2018), the Vietnamese sport sector has done morethan provide games for the nation to play by enhancing the country’sinternational integration efforts.
President Ho Chi Minh signed Decree No.33 dated March 27, 1946 on the establishment of the youth and sport sector.
His call for people to exercise the sameyear has been seen as a guideline for the national sport sector to move forwardover the years.
The beloved President said “Either protectingdemocracy or building the nation and new lifestyles need good health to gainsuccesses…Each strong citizen can help make the nation strong.”
In 1951, the Vietnam Table TennisFederation joined the International Table Tennis Federation, the first worldsport organisation Vietnam joined.
Between 1954 and 1975, sport cooperationformed part of the country’s foreign affairs, aiming to enhance solidaritybetween Vietnam and other socialist countries, and gather international supportfor national reunification.
During the period, the domestic sportsector received assistance from the Soviet Union, China and other socialistcountries in training officials, coaches and athletes.
With the support of the SovietUnion, Vietnam participated in the 22nd Olympics in 1980, the firstOlympics the country had participated in after reunification. Since then,Vietnam has been represented at every Olympics, bar 1984.
In 1982, the Vietnamese sportdelegation participated in the Asian Games (ASIAD) in India for the first time.Since then, the country has taken part in every edition of the tournament,which is held every four years.
At the sixth National PartyCongress in 1986, Vietnam began an open-door policy in different spheres,including sport. As a result, three years later, the country participated inthe Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) for the first time in Malaysia.
On January 29, 1991, the Council ofMinisters issued a decision to designate March 27 as Vietnamese Sports Day,aiming to encourage people from all walks of life to participate in sport andphysical activities.
After holding the 22nd SEA Games in 2003, the country will host the 31st edition of thegames in 2021.
Speaking at a meeting in Hanoilast June to assign Hanoi as the venue for the event, Prime Minister NguyenXuan Phuc said hosting the event is an honour for Vietnam as aconstructive member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Sound orientations bear fruits
In 2010, the Prime Minister approved the national sport developmentstrategy to 2020, laying out the directions for the domestic sport sector inthe years to come.
According to Vuong Bich Thang, General Director of theVietnam Sports Administration, since 2011, the sport sector has focused onmajor sport events included in Olympics and ASIAD such as track and field,swimming, weightlifting, taekwondo, chess, karate, table tennis and football.
In that spirit, athletes have received intensive trainingboth at home and abroad, he said, adding that the sector has also teamed up withrelevant state agencies and social organisations to promote sport development.
Besides, it has renewed the athlete selection and trainingsystem with the aim of improving the quality of athletes, while scaling up internationalintegration efforts, he said.
Such efforts paid off as overthe past years, the domestic sport sector has recorded marked achievements atcontinental and international tournaments.
One of the achievements is thethird position Vietnam had claimed at the 28th SEA Games inSingapore in 2015, with 73 gold medals, of which some 85 percent came inOlympic sports like athletics, swimming, gymnastics, rowing, fencing, taekwondo and shooting.
In 2016, 23 Vietnamese athletesqualified for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Hoang Xuan Vinhsecured Vietnam’s first Olympic gold medal in any sport, winning the men’s10-metre air pistol event.
During the 29th SEAGames in 2017, Vietnam, for the first time, broke Thailand’s long-held dominancein the track and field event with 17 gold medals.
Vietnamese swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien grabbed three gold medals, breaking two SEA Games records at the SEA Games 29. (Photo: VNA)Of note, Vietnam U23 shockedthe continent’s football community after blowing past regional heavyweightslike Iraq and Qatar to become the first Southeast Asian squad to reach thefinal of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship held in Chinain January 2018.
Despite the loss to Uzbekistanin the final, Vietnam U23 has written a new page in the history of Vietnamesefootball.
“It is thefirst time in history that we defeated a number of Asian powerhouses in anofficial tournament and became a new force on the continent,” said Minister ofCulture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien.
Following the squad’s heroics in China, Prime Minister Nguyen XuanPhuc invited the 31-strong contingent to the Government office.
“The whole team united together to overcome difficulties ofphysique and small stature, as well as the hard conditions of the weather. Theyalso practiced hard, worked in a team and showed their composure and confidenceduring the tournament for the pride of the country. And they made miracles,” hesaid.
On behalf of the Government, PM Phuc presented the first-classLabour Order to the team. He also gave three third-class Labour Orders to headcoach Park Hang-seo, goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung and midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai.
Other members of the team received the Prime Minister’scertificates of merit presented by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam.
The victory is hoped to push Vietnamese football teams to reach greaterheights in tournaments in the years to come.
It signals Vietnam’s ability in different areas, while motivatingyoung Vietnamese to work to bring home greater achievements, said NationalAssembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.
Tran Duc Phan, DeputyGeneral Director of the National Sports Administration, said the domestic sportsector has received due attention, citing the Government’s recent decisions to improvethe material life of athletes, especially young ones.
Over the past more than 70 years, theVietnamese sport sector has deeply integrated into the world, creating animportant premium for athletes to gain high results, he said.
The official noted goldmedals earned by Vietnamese athletes during the recent Olympics and ASIAD andstressed that they were attributable to efforts of the entire nation.
The female rowing team won the first gold medal for Vietnam at the ASIAD 2018 (Source: VNA)Sport fills nation with pride
Vietnam U23 team were welcomed at the airport following their outstanding performance at the AFC U23 Championship in China last January. (Photo: VNA)Last January, Hanoi and manybig cities turned into seas of red as throngs of fans took to the streetswaving national flags before, after and during each match of the AFC U23 Championshipto cheer the Vietnamese squad.
Tens of thousands enduredcold weather to greet the team as they returned home with a silver medal fromthe tournament. Many waited for more than fivehours to see their idols, who displayed their great performances throughout theevent.
Twenty-sixyear-old Bui Thi Lan from G&B Company Limited said sporting success had awakenedpatriotism among Vietnamese and brought people closer, explaining thatemployees in her company hugged each other after each of the U23 team’s victories.
PhanThi ThuHuong, a junior of Hanoi University, said Vietnamese have shown their stronglove for sport and football in particular, and national pride during the AFCU23 Championship as well as the 29th SEAGames.
“The U23team and other athletes have fueled the love for sports of Vietnamese,” shesaid.
Nguyen Thi Luyen,a student of Hanoi National University of Education, said there are no gaps ofgender, age and occupation when people celebrate the country’s sporting successes.
“I like tojoin the crows to shout out ‘Vietnam wins,’ hug my friends and even strangers,and hold their hands to cheer Vietnamese athletes at tournaments. I feel proudto be a Vietnamese,” said Do Thi Linh, a student from the Academy of Journalismand Communication. -VNA
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