Viet Nam’s weightlifters are aiming for a gold medals at the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Laos this December, but the team must beat challengers from Indonesia and Thailand to meet this modest target.

Weightlifter Nguyen Thi Thiet.

“Based on the standard and recent achievements, Viet Nam only have two athletes who could grab gold medals at the Laos Games. They are Beijing Olympics silver medallist, Hoang Anh Tuan, and Nguyen Thi Thiet, who won a silver medal at the Asian Weightlifting Championships last year and ranked 5th at the Beijing Olympics,” said head of the Weightlifting-Bodybuilding Department of the Viet Nam Sports Administration Do Dinh Khang.

At the Beijing Olympics, Tuan was one of the most experienced athletes in terms of major event participation and he has maintained a steady record in recent years.

Tuan won two golds in the men’s 56kg at the Asian Weightlifting Championships, in Kanazawa, Japan and a silver medal at the Asia Games in Qatar three years ago.

“Tuan’s strongest rival will be Indonesia’s Eko Yuli Irawan, who won a gold medal at the 24th Games. Tuan took a silver at that Games,” he said.

At the Beijing Olympics, Irawan only took a bronze. However, he is currently favoured over Tuan in terms of physical strength and skill, according to international referee Nguyen Ngoc Toan.

On the women’s side, Thiet has had any significant achievements over Thai weightlifters, who continue to take big tournaments. Prapawadee Jaroenrat-tanatarakoon won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics last year in the women’s 53kg category.

Sirikaew Pimsiri won a gold at the World Youth Weightlifting Championship 2008 in the women’s 58kg class and Annipa Moontar won a silver in the women’s 75kg pool at the Asian Weightlifting Championships last year.

Viet Nam’s top female weightlifter Thiet hopes to earn a gold at the next SEA Games where she is expected to meet Pimsiri.

At present, Thiet, Tuan and other national team members like Nguyen Manh Thang and Tran Van Hoa are training at Ha Noi-based National Sports Centre 1 in preparation for the 25th Games, the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games and the 2012 Olympics.

In order to qualify for the 2010 Youth Olympics, Vietnamese weightlifters must first win a place at the World Youth Weightlifting Championships in Thailand on May 19-24.

According to the International Weightlifting Federation, competition to enter the 2012 London Olympics – where there will be 260 weightlifters (170 men and 90 women) – will be much tougher.

Instead of ranking high in three international tournaments, athletes must fight in four games, including three World Weightlifting Championships (2009, 2010, 2011) in addition to continental qualifying rounds.

VietNamNet/VNS