FIG chairman commits to support for Vietnamese gymnastics

Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam National Olympic Committee and general director of the National Sports Administration Dang Ha Viet (right) and FIG's president Morinari Watanabe at the meeting in Hanoi on Tuesday. Photo thanhnien.vn

Hanoi - The International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG)’s president Morinari Watanabe has pledged to support Vietnamese gymnasts to reach new heights in the coming time.

Watanabe said this at the meeting in Hanoi on Tuesday with the Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam National Olympic Committee and General Director of the National Sports Administration Dang Ha Viet.

Watanabe also said that Vietnam could win medals at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles with the right preparation.

“I want to help support the development of Vietnamese gymnastics. Not only for the coming Summer Olympics in 2024 but also for 2028. I believe we can achieve good results in the coming time. If you have a dream, you can do it,” Watanabe said.

Vietnam is selected to become one of six host countries for the 2023 Parkour Asian Tour from August 26-27, Dang Ha Viet also proposed FIG provide assistance in terms of infrastructure, equipment and funding for the holding of the tournament.

Agreeing with the Vietnamese side’s proposal, the FIG president affirmed that the federation will support Vietnam with equipment worth US$84,300.

Gymnasts to ASIAD and Olympics

Following the SEA Games 32 in Cambodia which the Vietnamese gymnastics team earned four golds, two silvers and two bronzes, the athelets returned to practise hard to achieve the goal of winning medals at the Asian Games (ASIAD) 19 to be held in China late September as well as earning tickets to the 2024 Olympics.

The coach of the Vietnamese gymnastics team Trương Minh Sang said that the achievements at the regional event will help Vietnamese gymnasts confidently move towards big events.

Earlier, in the continental event, Vietnam won gold medals thanks to Phan Thị Hà Thanh in 2012 and Le Thanh Tung in 2017. At the world level, Vietnam also earned two tickets to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics thanks to Tung and Đinh Phương Thanh.

Gymanast Dang Ngoc Xuan Thien said: “Despite a lot of pressure, my teammates and I will follow the example of seniors like Tung and Thanh to practise hard and strive to achieve the best results at the upcoming ASIAD 19 to win tickets to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”