SEA Games 

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam will send a large delegation of more than a thousand individuals to compete in the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in December in Thailand.

Among them there will be nearly 50 officials, staff and team leaders, with the remainder coaches and athletes, making it a record in terms of Việt Nam's SEA Games actual competitors.

The information was announced during the fifth Executive Committee Meeting of the Việt Nam Olympic Committee's fifth term on Wednesday in Hà Nội.

The draft numbers were counted while preparation plans were underway and each team's medal targets were reported to the Sports Authority of Việt Nam.

In the previous games in Cambodia, there were bigger numbers overall 1,003, which included 702 athletes, but with 189 coaches and ten foreign experts.

Speaking at the meeting, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyễn Văn Hùng said the key task in the last six months of the year was to urgently prepare forces for two important events -- the Asian Youth Games and the 33rd SEA Games.

In particular, for the 33rd SEA Games, the minister requested the highest determination and drive to maintain the nation's position in the leading group. 

Minister Hùng requested the sport officials and coaches not only focus on the nationally-strong sports, but also those that could potentially earn medals at the continental tournament and the next Olympics.

He said it was necessary to identify Việt Nam's most competitive sports and support talented athletes to help them reach their highest level. 

State-run sport centres needed to coordinate with federations and authorities of cities and provinces to discover potential athletes and provide proper training through grassroots tournaments.

At the same time, the optimal conditions must be given to athletes for their training and competitions for them to bring victories home, he added.

Minister Hùng asked the Việt Nam Olympic Committee and sport industry managers to accelerate their works and preparation for the best results in the upcoming games.

In Thailand, the organisers will have 50 sports in competition, with 47 official ones and three demonstrations from December 9-20 in Bangkok, Chonburi and Songkhla. Up to 569 sets of medals will be delivered to winning athletes.

Vietnamese sporting stars expect to win golds in various sports such as football, athletics, wushu, swimming, fencing, gymnastics, wrestling and martial arts. Notably, shooting and archery, two Việt Nam's gold-medal hopefuls will be back after being off the table last time. 

Vietnamese athletes are expected to win at least 85 golds and to place in the top three in the medal table.

Việt Nam topped the medal tally in two previous games including in 2023. VNS