It's Viet Nam's second appearance at the Asian Youth Games (AYG), but the team are determined to win a gold medal.

The second international youth sports festival, every four years, is being held in Nanjing City, China, on August 16-24.

More than 3,500 athletes from Asian countries and territories, aged between 14-17, will take part in 16 sports and 122 events.

The 101-strong Vietnamese team, led by deputy head of the National Sports Administration Lam Quang Thanh, will compete in 14 sports. The squad is three times bigger than that at the first Games, held in Singapore in 2009.

The swimmers, shooters, weightlifters, fencers, track-and-field athletes and martial artists will all be out to take home medals.

At the first AYG, Viet Nam pocketed two silvers, won by Le Binh Dinh in the girls' 400m hurdles and Ca Thi Than in the girls' 800m. Viet Nam came 14th overall.

The AYG is also a dry run for young athletes who are preparing for the Youth Olympic Games next year, also in Nanjing. The next AYG will be held in Sri Lanka in 2017. — VNS