LAM QUANG THANH (Head of the Vietnam Sports Delegation) : Let's combine our power and unity through sport

The head of the Vietnamese sport delegation to the 26th SEA Games, Lam Quang Thanh, expressed satisfaction with his country’s achievement of collecting more than 80 gold medals, attributing the success to the athletes’ patriotisms.  He said he had doubted Indonesia’s preparations as the host, particularly with regard to transportation and accomodation, but that he was glad to be proven wrong.  He called on all participating countries to unite and make the SEA Games a platform for bigger achievements. “We all need to share our opinions about how we can be the best at a higher level, especially in Asia,” he said.  Interviewed at a delegation meeting among SEA Games Federations at the Hotel Sultan in Jakarta on Monday, Lam Quang Thanh spoke further to United & Rising about the issue.     The SEA Games are about to end. What do you think of the staging of the Games in general?  Honestly, at first we were a bit worried, because there was a lot of news of Indonesia’s unpreparedness until a few days before the opening, especially in relation to facilities, accommodation and transportation in Jakarta and Palembang.  We were confused at first because we did not have enough tickets to fly to Palembang prior to the opening.  Luckily, the event organizers, who worked with Garuda, helped us. Overall, Indonesia is successful despite some defects. However, these are to be expected. It’s not easy to be a perfect host.     What were the problems faced by Vietnamese athletes during their stay in Jakarta and Palembang?  Primarily the athletes’ village. Athletes were not able to stay in the same place so it was difficult to communicate with each other. In Palembang, the athletes’ village is very small. One toilet, for instance, is used by six people. There’s no athletes’ village in Jakarta. We sleep in hotels. The security is okay, very good, but the traffic jams hinder our communication because the distances from the hotels to the venues are large.     How many athletes did Vietnam send to the Games?  We arrived with 593 athletes who competed in 36 of the 45 sports. Of course we have sent our best athletes.     Has Vietnam fulfilled its aims for the Games?  We are still developing our athletes. We won’t stop trying to improve their achievements. We are strong in pencak silat, gymnastics, athletics, wrestling, shooting, Vovinam, fencing, kempo, karate, taekwondo, judo and rowing. We aimed to win at least 70 gold medals and finish in third place. One day before the end of the Games, we have taken 87 gold, 85 silver and 91 bronze medals.  Of course, this is an incredible leap in our achievement. At the previous SEA Games in Laos, we won 83 gold, 75 silver and 57 bronze medals and finished second behind Thailand. Actually, we were eyeing gold in football, but we lost dramatically to the host in the semifinal.     In which sports do you think the contingent underperformed?  Of course our gymnastics team collected the most medals, 11, because this is an unmeasured sporting event. Subjective decisions can be made. But the fact is our athletes showed their best. Also pencak silat, because we had set ambitious targets given the fact Indonesia really dominates the sport. But we got six gold medals from our 21 athletes.     Vietnam had overtaken Thailand to second place in the medal ranking but was overtaken again. How do you view this competition?  Yes, we overtook Thailand. At that time, our athletes had 12 more gold medals that were won on Wednesday in swimming, billiards, Vovinam, freestyle wrestling, shooting, chess and rowing. However, we realize Thailand is a strong sporting country and they have a good training program that is sufficiently funded. They had to overtake us, we were in second place for only a day.     What is the goal of Vietnam's athletes in the future?  The SEA Games is just a stepping stone ahead of bigger events. In the future, our target is to win at the 2012 Olympics. We hope we can bring home 8-10 gold medals from London. To do that, we will focus on winning other sporting events following the SEA Games.     What bonus is the Vietnamese government offering athletes who win a gold medal?  We’re not giving away any bonuses, but only a token of recognition. However, gold medalists deserve US$ 2,500.     What is your hope for Vietnam at the SEA Games in Myanmar?  The event serves to promote solidarity, friendship and development among ASEAN countries.  Let’s unite our power and togetherness through sport. We must share to improve and perform at a higher levels. I hope Myanmar can be a good host, even better than Indonesia because there are only 25 sporting events in competition. At least that will be more manageable in terms of facilities, meaning it’s not just about the hunt for medals. UR-10