Hà Nội sports community hopes to get even more top athletes into international competitions

Boxer Hà Thị Linh (right) competes in the qualifying round of the Paris 2024 Olympic boxing tournament in Thailand. She won a ticket to Paris Olympics. — Photo boxing.athlete365.org

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese sports has completed the goal of winning 14 official tickets to attend the 2024 Paris Olympics, with Hà Nội contributing two of those slots through Hà Thị Linh, in boxing and Đỗ Thị Ánh Nguyệt in archery.

While a modest number, the achievement has given sports managers in Hà Nội a boost, allowing them to develop key investment solutions for incubating high-achieving athletes and have them trained towards big events such as the Asian Games (ASIAD) and Olympics.

Precious tickets

In late June, the city got the good news that two of its athletes on the national team had won coveted tickets to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Boxer Hà Thị Linh won 4-1 against Vilma Viitanen of Finland in the women’s 60kg category at the second qualifying round of the Paris 2024 Olympic boxing tournament in Thailand, securing a spot at the Olympics.

In archery, the World Archery Federation announced Nguyệt as one of the last five athletes who would be going to the 2024 Paris Olympics based on the world rankings in the individual category. Nguyệt’s high world ranking was achieved through strong performances at the 2023 Asian Championship, ASIAD 19, 2023 World Championship and 2024 Paris Olympic qualifiers in Asia. This will be Nguyệt’s second consecutive Olympic participation in the women’s one-string archery category.

Hà Nội, along with Quảng Bình and An Giang, are the places which have sent the highest number of athletes with official spots to compete at the Paris games.

In addition to the standard regime for key national team athletes, Linh and Nguyệt also enjoy a specific pay out from the city for elite athletes – VNĐ17 million (US$680) per person per month from the beginning of the Paris Olympic Games 2024 for four years. This is a powerful motivation for them to continue their efforts in training and competition to achieve the best results in Paris.

Investment to develop

According to sports expert Nguyễn Hồng Minh, while the goal of winning two official tickets to Paris has been reached, it is a modest number compared to previous Olympics, such as Rio 2016 (eight slots) and Tokyo 2020 (four places), which can be seen as a step back for the sporting elite community.

The Deputy Director of Hà Nội’s Competition and Sports Training Centre, Lại Phúc Lộc, said that in the future, they would invest even more heavily in key sports such as fencing, archery, boxing, weightlifting, gymnastics, wushu and taekwondo to prepare for major events like ASIAD and Olympics.

Head of Hà Nội’s women’s boxing and coach of the national women’s boxing team, Nguyễn Như Cường, emphasised that in addition to nutritional help, athletes needed competition experience and medical care.

Hà Nội has greatly supported boxing in recent years, such as bringing in Thai expert Tawan Mungphingklang for the national team and sending Hà Nội athletes abroad to train and compete. This helped win the ticket to Paris, but Cường said the team needs continued attention and support to continue even further.

The Deputy Director of Hà Nội’s Competition and Sports Training Centre, Đặng Xuân Hưởng, added that for sports to develop sustainably and reach higher goals, the centre will support national team athletes in terms of nutrition, training equipment and opportunities to train in countries with strong sports programmes.

The centre will also prioritise placing high-achieving athletes in official working positions within the Hà Nội sports industry, providing them with more motivation and opportunities to excel in continental and global tournaments. – VNS