Swim Vietnam at SEA Games 31: Runner-up success
In less than 3 months, the Vietnamese swimming team will enter the 31st SEA Games campaign. In the tournament at home, the Vietnamese swimmers determine the goal of securing the second place of the entire team. Behind that simple goal were many difficulties the team faced, and the hardest thing came from a lack of… talent.
On slowing momentum
In the last 3 SEA Games, our swimming team was ranked 2nd in the whole team. Vietnamese fishermen are considered great success for the following two reasons. First, Singapore’s swimming team is still too strong compared to other Southeast Asian countries. Second, after losing runners-up to Vietnam, other countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia have all invested heavily in recent years.
No Vietnamese athlete has been able to replace Hoang Quy Phuoc in the last 10 years
The Rio Joseph Schooling Olympic gold medal only partially reflects Singapore’s current swimming strength. Even if Schooling isn’t at his best as before, the lion island nation still has plenty of swimmers strong enough to take his place. In fact, at the 2019 SEA Games, three-quarters of Schooling’s gold medals (HCVs) came from the team swimming branch. In the tournament 3 years ago, Singapore won 23 gold medals.
When Schooling fell, swimming in Singapore still made Quah Zheng Wen persistent in competing by winning 6 gold medals. Last year’s SEA Games 3 was also an opportunity for them to introduce two new faces, Jonathan Tan (men’s 50m freestyle medal) and Darren Chua (5 gold medal). Quah Zheng Wen’s sister, Quah Ting Wen, also won 6 gold medals at the last SEA Games. He also attracted attention by swimming 2 times in the relay number, not 1 turn like other athletes (athletes).
Singapore can be compared to a strong all-round swimming team, while Vietnam mainly relies on certain individuals. That’s especially true for the Vietnam women’s team, where one man won more than half of the gold medals in the SEA Games swimming session: Nguyen Thi Anh Vien. This was more evident in the national swimming championships, where Anh Vien alone won more medals than all the teams. sport others present.
If Singapore always has a new class of athletes to replace the old generation on the gridiron, Vietnam cannot do the same. In the men’s butterfly freestyle and short distance events, for the last 10 years we have only had one person able to compete for gold, namely swimmer Hoang Quy Phuoc. In women’s swimming, Anh Vien is almost the only hope for this decade’s remarkable achievements.
Repeat error
“After Anh Vien, Vietnam doesn’t have any athletes who can hijack 4-6 gold medals in one SEA Games”, that’s Mr. honest comment. Dinh Viet Hung, Secretary General of the Water Sports Association. The 6 gold medals and 2 silver medals won by Anh Vien at the 2019 SEA Games are the efforts of Can Tho fisherman which is extraordinary considering that he has gradually passed his peak. The same was true for the men’s sprint event, where Hoang Quy Phuoc remained unopposed in the water.
Anh Vien personally had to endure a lot of criticism for his underperforming performance at the Tokyo Olympics. That opens up questions about the billions of dollars invested in these fishermen over a long period of time with the aim of winning medals at the Olympics. But from a certain angle, we need to admit another truth: Anh Vien has to work too hard for achievements at the national and continental level.
Currently, Anh Vien is living a peaceful life after leaving the team
Usually a swimmer will only focus on one content to achieve the highest achievement, true saying “one job for nine is better than nine jobs”. School is very strong in butterfly swimming, and Quy Phuoc is renowned as a master of the short distance freestyle. An athlete proficient in multiple strokes like Michael Phelps, they will focus on winning medals in freestyle, butterfly and medley. In terms of versatility, Anh Vien is superior to the guys above.
In the past, Anh Vien won SEA Games gold medals in all swimming categories, including backstroke and breaststroke! Due to having to go through too much content, including short, middle and long distances, Anh Vien couldn’t focus on his strength in medley swimming. Anh Vien’s talent is undeniable, but the pressure of achievement in the region makes it impossible for Vietnamese swimming to have an Olympic medallist.
The saddest thing about Anh Vien’s story is that this is not the first time swimming in Vietnam has gone wrong. Prior to Anh Vien, Quy Phuoc was also rated as an athlete with many prospects to win medals in the continental and world arenas. Unfortunately, the training trip was not carefully prepared, as well as a lack of methodical investment, which prevented Phuoc and Vien from reaching the expected threshold.
Try by all means
Currently, 9 members of the Vietnam swimming team have gone to Hungary to train preparation for SEA Games 31. The journey lasts for 2 months, and attention is focused on the two faces expected to replace Anh Vien, Pham Thi Van and Le Thi My Thao. In the past, Vietnamese swimming had athletes who were expected to stand next to Anh Vien such as Ngoc Quynh and Phuong Tram, but they were not able to compete as successfully as hoped.
Anh Vien is no longer in the national team, but still excels in many swimming events
At the age of 26, My Thao is one of the veterans of the Vietnam swimming team. He was mentioned several names, especially from the time he won Anh Vien in the national championship. My thao only excels in butterfly swimming content. Another person, Pham Thi Van, was only 17 years old. He was considered to have great growth potential, but placing too much hope on a teenage athlete would have many long-term consequences.
For the above reasons, the pressure to win a gold medal at the 31st SEA Games will be on the shoulders of male athletes such as Huy Hoang (long and middle-distance freestyle), Thanh Bao (breaststroke), Le Nguyen Paul (swimming) backstroke. ), Hung Nguyen, Kim Son (mixed swimming). Hoang Quy Phuoc is no longer in the best form as before, so he will be strong in the team relay competition. As a senior in Vietnam’s swimming team, Phuoc is also like the man who connects the whole team.
In addition to sending 9 key athletes to train abroad, the Vietnamese swimming team will select the best faces to compete in the SEA Games at the 25-meter National Swimming – Diving Championships. In the context of the epidemic which is still very complicated, the most important tournament in preparation for the 31st SEA Games Vietnam swimming is still going on as scheduled. This could be an opportunity for us to discover some new talent with veteran athletes.
According to the Ministry of General Sports, Vietnam’s swimming will send 30 athletes to compete in the 31 SEA Games. Apart from fighting for medals, the SEA Games held at home is also a great opportunity for us to bring many athletes to the arena area to scrub, learn and improve their competition experience. In the midst of adversity, the rare good news for Vietnamese swimming before the 31st SEA Games is that Joseph Schooling and Quah Zheng Wen will not be participating in this tournament.
Currently, Schooling and Quah are serving in the military. In addition, with their years of experience above, they plan to compete in the ASIAD and Commonwealth Games. Changing Schooling and Quah will become a member of the youth team. This could be an opportunity to help Vietnamese swimmers increase their chances of winning medals in 1-2 events.
What does Anh Vien do when he is not focused on the national team? Instead of going to Hungary for long training sessions like many of his other team-mates, swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien is enjoying stress-free days as a national player. However, leaving the team does not mean that Anh Vien’s training intensity has decreased. He still continues to train with trainers in the Army delegation. During the Lunar New Year holiday, Anh Vien “washes water at the beginning of the year” on the 3rd day of Tet. Most likely, he will continue to compete in the 25 meter National Swimming – Diving Championships in Thua Thien – Hue. Regular training helps Anh Vien stay at a truly superior level compared to other athletes. At the national swimming championships late last year, Anh Vien won 10/16 gold medals for the Army team, more than the following two teams combined, Da Nang (6 gold) and Long An (3 gold). Apart from practicing and competing, Anh Vien also spends time in person taking classes at his swimming club. Anh Vien often goes straight to teaching, interacting with students on Sunday afternoons each week. In the past, Anh Vien had said that opening a swimming club was a dream he had longed for, but only recently became a reality. After training abroad for so long, now is the time for Anh Vien to have more time for himself and his family. It was also the wish of the Anh Vien family who previously could only see their daughter’s face 1-2 times a year. |
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at Blogtuan.info – Source: 24h.com.vn – Read the original article here
