Three more penalized for national youth table tennis team diet scam

Its director Dang Ha Viet said at a conference on Friday that a department head, a supervisory specialist at the National Sports Training Center and a table tennis expert at the Department of Sports and Physical Training were disciplined for “not fulfilling their tasks and roles.” He did not identify them.

In October claims of “inadequate meals” for the national youth table tennis surfaced and quickly went viral.

Members of the national youth table tennis team (aged 13 to 17) get daily meal allowances of VND100,000 (US$4.09) for breakfast, VND120,000 for lunch and VND100,000 for dinner.

Their food is provided at the team cafeteria next to the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi.

But some of the team members complained that despite the generous allowance the meals provided were inadequate, and they had to spend their own money to buy food outside or get their family to send food to ensure nutrition.

For breakfast they were given some sticky rice and a bottle of soft drink, and the other meals had a few dishes like fried tofu, braised fish and boiled vegetables.

The athletes also said they had to pay a part of their allowance to head coach Bui Xuan Ha.

He claimed the money was used for transport to competitions, buffets, movies, and picnic trips, but the players said there were no such activities.

Viet said Ha had the greatest responsibility in this incident and would not be allowed to work with any national youth team in future.

He became the head coach in December 2022. The team comprises 10 players.

Viet referred to the three reprimanded officials: “They should have faced more serious disciplinary action.

“But they put a lot of effort into other tasks and the administration also considered other factors to reduce their punishment.”

A top official at the Department of High Performance Sports II also took responsibility for the incident but was not penalized.

“We consider this a huge lesson in management for the sports industry,” Viet said.

After the scandal, the National Sports Complex kitchen was temporarily closed, and the team had to eat outside for two days before moving to the National Sports Center for accommodation and training.