Ha Noi (VNA) - Viet Nam has set a target of 15-20 berths at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, considering it as the biggest goal for the sports sector in the Year of the Rat.
The country is pinning hopes on taekwondo artists such as Tran Hieu Ngan who once brought home the first and only silver medal at an Olympiad eight years ago in Sydney .
Four athletes, including taekwondo athletes Hoang Ha Giang (women’s under 49kg), Nguyen Thi Hoai Thu (women’s under 57kg) and Nguyen Van Hung (men’s over 80kg), have to date secured official places at the summer games.
Hung, who had competed at the 2004 Athens Olympics, is regarded as the brightest hopeful and is likely to win medal if he competes at his full capacity.
Table tennis player Doan Kien Quoc is the fourth athlete who was qualified for the Olympics this summer after bagging the only ticket given to Southeast Asia .
Meanwhile, athletes of other sports will have to compete with their rivals this year in qualifying rounds for tickets to the games.
Weightlifter Hoang Anh Tuan, one of the world’s five leading athletes in the men’s 56kg category, is preparing for the Asian qualifying round scheduled to take place from April 27 to May 1.
A gold medal at the freshly-ended Good Luck Beijing was an encouragement for Tuan although he had poor performance at the 2007 World Championship.
In track-and-field, the country is pinning hope on sprinter Vu Thi Huong who is likely to meet the games’ requirement of 11’’42 in the women’s 100m event.
High jumper Bui Thi Nhung, sprinter Truong Thanh Hang and marathoner Nguyen Dinh Cuong are expected to seize berths at the world’s largest sporting festival as they will compete in the third round of Grand Prix in Ha Noi next June.
Swimmer Nguyen Huu Viet and badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh are likely to be eligible for the Olympics.
Viet will have a chance to accumulate more points at the World Swimming Championships in Beijing in March, while Minh is likely to retain his world Top 40 place when he will participate in tournaments in England , Belgium , Germany and Japan .
Athletes of gymnastics, springboard, canoeing, rowing, wrestling, fencing, tennis, archery and shooting are bracing for a series of qualifying rounds in the year-beginning months to take tickets or score more points to be eligible for the games.-Enditem
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