On March 30, taekwondo trainers and athletes were among the first Vietnamese sportspeople to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. According to head coach of the national team Vu Anh Tuan, all the vaccinated are now in good health without any adverse reactions and have returned to normal practice.
As scheduled, the team will leave for overseas training in Kazakhstan and then Uzbekistan before arriving in Amman, Jordan to participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Asian qualification tournament on May 14-15.
After the campaign, they will return to Kazakhstan for further training in preparation for the 2021 Asian Taekwondo Championships, to be hosted in Lebanon on June 16-18.
In total, the national taekwondo squad will have 80 days of training and competition abroad.
Touching on concerns regarding COVID-19 during the trip, Tuan said the taekwondo department and federation have proactively liaised with countries where the team will practise in order to ensure optimal conditions regarding accommodation and travel. Furthermore, these are also nations with good control of the pandemic.
According to the head coach, Vietnam aims to win at least one Olympic ticket through the Asian qualification tournament. Most recently, a national tournament was held by the Vietnam Taekwondo Federation to select the most outstanding athletes for the Olympic qualifying campaign.
Vietnam’s hopes of competing for Olympic places will rest on the categories of women’s 49kg and 57kg, and men’s 57kg and 58kg, Tuan said.
