According to the Vietnam Sports Administration, in the first 6 months of 2020, Vietnamese athletes were expected to participate in 113 international sports tournaments and events. Domestically, 71 competitive sports tournaments were expected to be held, with 19 sports teams participating in foreign training programs.
Athletes from Hanoi Sports Training and Competition Center actively practice to be ready for tournaments – Photo: KTDT.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic from February up to now, however, almost all domestic and international tournaments and foreign training programs expected to be participated by Vietnamese athletes were suspended or canceled. Some teams going to foreign training courses before the outbreak also had to return to the country and be quarantined according to regulations.
According to updates from the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, there have been no cases of infection in the community in the past 20 days. This is good news for the return of sports events. Vietnam Sports Administration is expected to allow sports events, including domestic sports competitions, tournaments, and training classes, to return.
However, the sports industry is still waiting for instructions from the Government. Sports events will only return when allowed by the Government. With permission from the Government for the hosting of tournaments planned for the later 6 months of the year, only the most significant tournaments, namely the national championship and the national youth championship, will be held.
Speaking to the media, Mr. Tran Duc Phan, Deputy Director of Vietnam Sports Administration, said: “The other tournaments may be canceled or combined to form general tournaments. It is impossible to hold all the tournaments planned for the first 6 months in the last 6 months as consideration must be given to venues, local budgets, and athlete training”.
Shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh practices at home.
COVID-19 has ceased the hosting of sports events around the world and Vietnam is not spared. During the past 4 months, Vietnamese athletes have not been able to attend any tournament. To the majority of athletes, training has also been affected as they could only practice at home following a regime covering only 50-60% of the usual volume in teams or clubs. They all want the tournaments to be back.
Currently, to prepare for upcoming tournaments, many provinces and cities nationwide have allowed sports training to be back. In order to strictly comply with the regulations on COVID-19 prevention and control, many Sports Training Centers have had their facilities sprayed with disinfectants and classrooms, training equipment, training rooms, and training tools cleaned. Medical supplies, soap, clean water, and antiseptic hand sanitizer are also supplied to classrooms and training rooms, along with the appointment of temperature checking staff for athletes. Mask wearing and social distancing are strictly practised during training.
M.T