Vietnam expects to take at least six gold medals in athletics in the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Laos next month.

Bui Thi Nhung

This goal is less ambitious than at the last SEA Games in Thailand because a number of key athletes are off form, says Duong Duc Thuy, head of the athletic team.

“Two years ago in Thailand, we won eight gold medals but the situation has changed,” Thuy said. “After the third Asian Indoor Games and the Asian Track and Field Championship, we can now look for gold medals in the women’s 100m, 200m, 800m, 1,500m and men’s decathlon events.”

Vietnam’s sprinter Vu Thi Huong is a big hope as she set a new women’s record of 7.24 seconds in the women’s 60m at the AIG.

Vietnam is also expecting Asian Grand Prix champion Truong Thanh Hang to win gold medals. At this year’s SEA Games, she will defend her titles in the 800m and 1,500m.

Thuy, who is also head of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training’s athletics division, says he is also concerned about former Asian champion and SEA Games defending champion Bui Thi Nhung. The high jumper just managed to clear the bar at 1.8m at the third AIG in Hanoi this year, 0.14m lower than the level she recorded in Thailand in 2005.

The Vietnamese athletic team ended second behind hosts Thailand in the previous SEA Games two years ago.

PV