LookAtVietnam – After bagging a silver medal at the Asian Grand Prix in Bangkok, Thailand last Saturday, the Viet Nam men’s archery team set their sights on the third Asian Indoor Games in Viet Nam and the Southeast Asian Games in Laos this December.

Cuong and his teammates only managed second in the team event, losing to Malaysia.

At last year’s event, Cuong took home a gold and a bronze medal in the 70m singles event.

This was the team’s best performance since they debuted at the 19th SEA Games in Indonesia.

During the SEA Games hosted by Viet Nam in 2003, the team failed to reach the podium.

The team has set their hopes on Tran Nguyen Tieu Anh, who competed at the SEA Games in the Philippines in 2005.

Anh dominated the National Championships in the women’s individual 50m and 70m compound.

The 20-year-old Hanoian archer is a second-generation capital team archer - the national team’s primary source of archers.

One challenge for Vietnamese athletes in their struggle against regional rivals is their lack of international experience.

“The Culture, Sports and Tourism Ministry has paid attention to archery, but there are so many other sports to look after for the upcoming Asian Indoor Games and the SEA Games,” said Bui Van Cuong, the national coach.

The archers will train with new facilities and equipment at the official SEA Games archery venue at National Sport Centre 1, in Nhon a town near Ha Noi.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News