ASEAN University Games

SEA Games champion Phạm Thị Hồng Lệ will compete in the 20th ASEAN University Games next week in Thailand. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam will send 53 athletes to compete at the 20th ASEAN University Games (AUG), which will be held in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand, from July 26 to August 6.

Among them are nine track-and-field athletes; eight taekwondo martial artists, nine pencak silat fighters, three muay thai participants, and two teams in e-sports and futsal.

Some of the Vietnamese students are national team members, such as SEA Games champions Lò Thị Hằng (women's javelin), Phạm Thị Hồng Lệ (women's 10,000m) and Vũ Thị Ngọc Hà (women's long jump).

The Ubon Ratchathani tournament will receive more than 2 000 athletes, officials, technical officials, workers and volunteers.

They will compete in 230 events in 23 sports. The Games was postponed two times because of COVID-19.

At the previous AUG in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, in 2018, Vietnamese students won 16 golds, nine silvers and six bronzes to place fifth.

Thailand came first with 62 golds, followed by Indonesia with 44 and Malaysia with 37.

The AUG is a biennial sports event that involves athletes from the universities of the ASEAN member countries. It is regulated by the ASEAN University Sports Council (AUSC), established in 1980.

It is organised biennially by the host countries on a rotational basis. The host nation shall propose the games to be hosted at a Council meeting, and all decisions pertaining to the AUG will be decided by consensus of the participating countries.

Since its inception in 1981, the ASEAN University Games has grown in strength, numbers and quality. The inaugural setting up of the permanent AUSC Secretariat in Malaysia further helped realise the objectives of AUSC.

The AUSC has worked hard to promote solidarity and contributed to the ongoing goodwill, understanding and comradeship of nations in true ASEAN spirit.

The spirit of regional cooperation and solidarity upheld by ASEAN over the years has remained steadfast until today. VNS