2008 was marked as a very successful year for the Vietnam’s sports at international and regional competitions.

Vietnam won the AFF Cup for the first time.

The happiness of footballers.

Loyal fans’ joys.

Delighted

Striker Cong Vinh, the hero of the national squad.

Coach Calisto was honorred as a hero.

The dream has come true.

Hoang Anh Tuan - Beijing Olympic silver medalist

Discovered from Que Vo wrestling arena in Bac Ninh province, 23 year-old Tuan soon expressed his talent in weightlifting which requires physical strength and flawless technical movements.

Regarded as a quintessential ’product’ of Vietnam sports, Tuan got a lot of supports from the General Department of Sports and was systematically trained by well-known experts from Bulgaria, China and Vietnam.

Tuan had a three-month training session with the Bulgarian weightlifting team before the Olympic Games’ kick-off.

Despite certain difficulties, say Bulgarian expert Stephan Tupurov felt ill prior to the Games, Tuan still broken his individual record to secure the precious silver medal for Vietnam at 290kg level with great efforts.

Tuan has continued his training with the national team with the target of conquering the Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam and the Southeast Asian Games in Laos in 2009.

Truong Thanh Hang - the queen of track and field

In 2008, for the first time, Vietnam hosted the Asian Grand Prix which attracted most of outstanding track and field athletes in the region.

Truong Thanh Hang finished first in the 1,500m race after having surpassed many strong rivals in the total three rounds. Back to the My Dinh national stadium at the end of June, 2008, Hang clocked a time of 4:18.45 but unfortunately failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympic Games.

In November, she continued to dominate at the national championship by snatching golds in the 800m, 1,500m and even 5,000m race.

Southeast Asian defending champion Thanh Hang is expected to successfully protect her gold at the 25th Sea Games in Laos this year.

(Source: Nhan Dan)