Addressing the September 13 send-off event held in Hanoi for the national sports delegation, Deputy PM Dam encouraged Vietnamese athletes to perform their best to bring glory to homeland and fulfill well their role as Vietnam’s goodwill ambassadors to international friends.
The government leader then handed over the national flag and assigned tasks to the national sports delegation for the Asiad campaign.
Deputy Director of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training and head of the Vietnam Asiad sports team, Lam Quang Thanh informed the deputy PM of the contingent’s preparation for the Games and affirmed that all athletes were ready for competitions.
On behalf of the athletes, two prominent gymnasts, Pham Phuoc Hung and Phan Thi Ha Thanh, swore to compete with utmost determination for highest results in order to live up to everyone’s expectations.
Vietnam sends a 298-member delegation to the 17th Asiad, with 199 athletes on 22 teams competing in 21 sports and targeting to win from 2-4 gold medals. The country’s golden hopes are pinned on Nguyen Thi Anh Vien (swimming), Phan Thi Ha Thanh (gymnastics), Thach Kim Tuan (weightlifting) and Hoang Xuan Vinh (shooting).
The contingent is scheduled to depart for Incheon on September 15 and take part in a flag-flying ceremony held by the Asiad organising board in the Asiad Athlete Village on September 17, two days ahead of the opening ceremony. The 16-day event will feature the participation of 45 sports delegations from across Asia in 439 disciplines of 36 official sports.
