Judo 

Lê Anh Tài (right) was one of Việt Nam champions at the 32nd SEA Games. He is expected to defend his 90kg title in the 33rd Games in Thailand. Photo danviet.vn

HÀ NỘI — Defending their top position in terms of the medal table will be a key task for Vietnamese judokas at the upcoming SEA Games, although they concede they will face challenges.

Việt Nam were the number one team at the previous two Games, winning nine golds in the 31st edition on home soil and eight in the following one in Cambodia, leaving their nearest rivals trailing well behind. 

As the 33rd Games is approaching, both coaches and martial artists are accelerating plans for enhancing their skills and getting ready for any problems they could face this time around.

As the hosts, Thailand have the right to decide which categories to organise. In the latest announcement, there are 12 categories for both men and women mainly focusing on the Thais' strong points of heavyweights, while several lighter weight competitions, in which Việt Nam excel, have been cut.

Among those dropped were women's 45kg, 48kg and 53kg and men's 60kg, categories in which Việt Nam have been dominant for many years.

As a result, champions Đỗ Thu Hà, Hoàng Thị Tình, Nguyễn Thị Thanh Thủy and Chu Đức Đạt will not be fighting to defend any title, despite their current high performance.

Tình and Thủy were Vietnamese representatives in the last two Olympics.

"It is almost impossible for us to send our best boxers in light weight categories to the SEA Games in Thailand this time because the lowest weight for women is 57kg and 66kg for men. Therefore, we must have our own specific plans," said General Secretary of the Việt Nam Judo Federation Nguyễn Hữu An.

Another problem is the player naturalisation of the participating countries, such as the Philippines, Cambodia and Thailand.

To improve their SEA Games strength, they have 'imported' athletes from Japan. These fighters stay and train with the strongest clubs in Japan, only joining the national teams when there are international competitions.

Among them are Masayuki Terada​​ of Thailand​​​​​ and Shintaro Uno of Cambodia in the men's 73kg, along with Shugen Nakano of the Philippines in the men's 66kg.

According to the Vietnamese coaching board, the Games' schedule is really tough for Việt Nam, as some of the weight classes have never been tackled previously by Vietnamese athletes and currently they may only be in a position to compete for two gold medals.

Coach Nguyễn Duy Khanh, however, believed that, while athletes of Japanese origin show exceptional techniques, they were not unbeatable. 

He gave the example of Olympian Thủy who defeated Saki Yanagiha of Cambodia to win the women's 52kg class in the 32nd SEA Games, her victory down to her experience and determination.

His athletes have been hard at work since the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday, with the review board still determining who will be entered for the Games.

They will have several international competitions which are considered important warm-ups in the next few months, including the Asian championship in April in Thailand and the world championship in June in Hungary.

Some notable fighters will also take part in Grand Slam events in Mongolia, the United Arab Emirates and Japan.

“We have set targets at the 33rd SEA Games. We will wait for the technical announcement of the organising committee to clearly understand the regulations and limits (if any) and then we will have specific tasks for our athletes so that we can complete the mission," An said. VNS