Silver medallist at Beijing Olympics Hoang Anh Tuan said he might retire from international competitions if he doesn’t win a gold in the men’s 56kg event at SEA Games.

Hoang Anh Tuan.

A SEA Games’ gold will allow the 24-year-old to focus on training and competing through to the 2010 Asian Games and 2012 Olympics.

A challenge

According to the experts, the men’s 56kg event of weightlifting is one of the most eagerly awaited events at the SEA Games. The clash between Anh Tuan and Yuli Irawan Eko from Indonesia represents two top global weightlifters competing head to head.

Tuan was the second Vietnamese athlete to bring home a silver medal from the Olympic’ Games. The first was won by women’s taekwondo athlete Tran Hieu Ngan at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

Tuan, who also took gold in the same category at the Good Luck Beijing 2008 tournament in China, lifted 290kg in total in Beijing Olympics, while Eko only managed 288kg.

The Asian gold medallist lifted 130kg in the snatch and 160kg for the clean and jerk category.

However at 24th SEA Games in Thailand two years ago, although got off a promising start, Bac Ninh-born athlete Tuan lost to Eko in the final, and ended up only winning silver.

Worry

Since the Beijing Olympics, Tuan’s fitness has varied. At the recent National Weightlifting Championship, he failed to lift 145kg in the clean and jerk category at his third attempt in the event’s first competition day.

According to Tuan, he will struggle to repeat his result in Beijing. At the last SEA Games in Thailand, he had one-month training session in Bulgaria and now in preparation for the Games in Laos, Tuan has had to train himself this time around.

Meanwhile 20-year-old Eko is well prepared for the competition.

Vietnamese fans are expected that Tuan’s experience will help him shine once again.

Tuan won two gold medals in the men’s 56kg category at the Asian Weightlifting Championships, held in Kanazawa, Japan last April.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News