Phạm Văn Mách competing in the SEA Games 31 last month. He will take part in the Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championship in mid-July in Maldives. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — SEA Games champion Phạm Văn Mách is targetting a gold medal in his return to the 54th Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championship next month in the Maldives.

Mách is one of the best bodybuilders in Việt Nam, competing in the men's 55kg category and having won several national championships. The An Giang Province-born athlete grabbed five world championship gold medals in 2001, 2009, 2010, 2014 and 2017.

He also triumphed in the continental competition eight times, taking seven titles in a row from 2004 to 2012, and another in 2014.

At last month's SEA Games 31, the 46-year-old athlete overcame all other rivals to secure his second Games gold. 

The title was a strong push for him to train hard in preparing for the Asian event on July 15-21. A total of 51 events will be organised in the first three days before the Annual Congress from July 17. 

"Despite my age, I am still in good condition for competition," Mách said.

"I was first called to the national team in 1998 and since then I have been working hard and updating the latest world information on training and nutrition diet for bodybuilders. These practises help me to keep my fitness and muscles as well as when I was young."

Mách said, unlike other sports, bodybuilding requires a special regime of eating and drinking habits, which is responsible for up to 70 per cent of changes in body and mass.

"I am also in a comfortable and peaceful state of mind and I'm excited to take part in competitions," he said.

He explained that to win high points from judges, builders must show their muscle size and conditioning, body form and their performance in a routine to music. 

Apart from Mách, other in-form athletes such as Đinh Kim Loan and Trần Hoàng Duy Thuận, who also won titles in recent SEA Games, will also compete in the Maldives.

At the upcoming championship, coach Nguyễn Văn Hải does not set any goals for the team because there will be many powerful athletes at the event, the first in three years. He expects there to be a high level of competitiveness.

However, Mách has set a personal goal of gold for himself, which he said he always wants to achieve.

"I'd love to be on the top podium and listen to the national anthem, an amazing moment that always lifts my national pride," he said. VNS