A challenging target
The goal of five gold medals may sound modest, but it is a milestone Viet Nam has reached only once in several decades of Asian Games competition, at the 2018 edition.
At the most recent Games in Hangzhou, China, the Vietnamese sports delegation returned with just three gold medals in sepak takraw, shooting and karate. Domestic experts described the result as disappointing, warning that Vietnamese sport risked falling further behind regional rivals.
To avoid repeating that disappointment in Japan, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra has recently signed a decision approving a programme for the development of key sports in preparation for the Asian Games and Olympic Games over the 2026-2045 period.
The newly issued decision is expected to accelerate the development of outstanding young athletes in key sports, equipping them to compete for medals at future Asian Games and Olympics.
It also aims to improve infrastructure, training equipment and support conditions, including nutrition programmes and recovery measures, in order to raise athletes’ performance standards and physical fitness.
For the 2026-2030 period, the programme sets the objective of placing Viet Nam among the top 20 nations at the Asian Games. Specifically, Vietnamese sport is targeting five gold medals at this year’s Games and six at the next edition.
Looking further ahead, the ambition is to break into the top 15 at the Asian Games with 10 gold medals, and the top 50 at the Olympic Games with at least one gold medal, during the 2036-2045 period. The document also explicitly names hosting the 2038 Asian Games in Viet Nam as a long-term goal.
As such, 2026 is regarded as the starting point of this long-term cycle, and this year’s Asian Games will serve as the first major test.
Nine priority sports
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, together with the Sports Authority of Viet Nam, has identified nine priority sports for concentrated investment in pursuit of medals: shooting, archery, weightlifting, cycling, rowing and canoeing, athletics, swimming, karate and sepak takraw.
These selections were based on two criteria: maximising the physical strengths of Vietnamese athletes, and keeping pace with global sporting trends.
Since April, Nguyen Danh Hoang Viet, Director of the Sports Authority of Viet Nam, has held working sessions with national teams preparing for the 2026 Asian Games. Every aspect of preparation has been carefully reviewed, with key athletes outlining their individual performance goals and team officials identifying the events with medal potential.
According to Nguyen Hong Minh, former Director of the High-Performance Sports Department, competition at the Asian Games always features the continent’s top athletes, meaning every medal demands systematic, long-term investment.
To forecast the chances of Vietnamese athletes accurately, the country cannot rely on luck. Each medal, he noted, can be foreseen months or even years in advance through careful preparation.
Fine-tuning peak performance
At present, the national teams have identified both their strongest events and the core athletes who will compete at the 2026 Asian Games. Following a thorough review process, each squad has entered the final, decisive preparation phase, with full focus on its key competitors. With just over four months to go before the Games begin, every team is fully aware of its medal mission in Japan.
At the end of May, Viet Nam’s pistol shooters will travel to Germany to compete at the 2026 ISSF World Cup, their next major international competition following the 2026 Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship held in India in February.
Trinh Thu Vinh, Pham Quang Huy and the national team's leading shooters are all intensifying their preparations for the 2026 Asian Games. The tournament in Germany will therefore serve as an important performance test after months of dedicated training.
A few days ago, the Viet Nam national archery team completed the second stage of the 2026 World Cup in Shanghai, China, winning a bronze medal in the men’s team event, led by Le Quoc Phong, Nguyen Hoang Phi Vu and Nguyen Duy. Following this, the team will move on to the third stage of the 2026 World Cup, scheduled to take place in Turkey this June.
With targeted investment strategies and focused preparation, Vietnamese sport appears ready to make its mark at the continental Games.
