Vietnam has high hopes for outstanding sprinters Truong Thanh Hang and Vu Thi Huong who have won gold medals at regional and international competitions.  

Hang – one of Vietnam’s hopefuls for a gold medal in the women’s 800m race – said she is in good form for the competition following a recent month-long training course in Kunming, China.

“I am a lot more self-confident now and looking forward to competitions against opponents,” Hang told VOV prior to the departure.

Experts also expect young athletes such as Duong Viet Anh, Nguyen Thi Ly, Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc and Duong Van Thai will perform well at this biggest regional sporting event.

“Vietnam has not won any medal in the women’s 100m hurdle at regional events for a long time,” said athlete Cao Thanh Hang. “We have trained well in China, hoping to be among the top winners this time.”

As the Vietnamese track-and-field has been acknowledged for good results in Southeast Asia and even Asia, it will be the main force of Vietnamese sports at SEA Games 26 in Indonesia.

“We have followed with keen interest international competitions including the Asian Athletics Championships, Thailand Open and Singapore Open, and found that our opponents did not perform well,” said Nguyen Manh Hung, Vice General Secretary of the Vietnam Athletics Federation. “Our athletes have even played better than the gold medalists of the previous SEA Games. We expect our athletes will beat the set target.”