Vietnam to compete in 27 sports at SEA Games

Vietnam will send 440 athletes to compete in 27 out of 36 sports at the 28th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Singapore this June, targeting around 74 gold medals, reported the Vietnam Sports and Physical Training Department on its website on Friday.

The national men's soccer team is also well prepared to advance to the final match of the tourney, which will offer 402 sets of medals.

To prepare for the competitions, Vietnam sent two female runners, Quach Thi Lan and Nguyen Thi Huyen, to the U.S. for training. Meanwhile the national shooting team left for South Korea in late March for training.

Some of the team members will fly to the U.S. to partake in the 2015 ISSF Shotgun, Rifle, and Pistol World Cup Finals from May 10 to 19 before returning home for the SEA Games in June.

Gymnasts went to Canada for training from March 30 to April 20.

Vietnam's sports sector has set its goals at upcoming major international competitions, including to maintain a seat in the top-three at the 28th SEA Games and secure at least 18 spots in the Olympics Games 2016.

Vietnamese sports have secured a top three ranking in the region every year since 2003 when, as the host nation, Vietnam topped the medal table with 158 gold medals.

Vietnam has paid due investment in its strong sports such as weightlifting, swimming, shooting and gymnastics. Its goal is to lead the region in Olympic sports while making investment for long-term plans beyond the Asian Games 2018 and Olympics 2020, according to Tran Duc Phan, Deputy Director of the Department. Endi