Vietnam secured 87 gold medals across 27 sport categories at SEA Games 33, primarily from athletics (12 gold medals), wrestling (10), shooting (8), swimming (7), and karate (6). The delegation topped the Games in wrestling, shooting, and karate.

Among these 27 categories, 14 will feature in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic program. These include athletics, swimming, shooting, wrestling, football, artistic gymnastics, fencing, boxing, canoeing, rowing, taekwondo, judo, weightlifting, and handball.

Thirteen sports not on the Olympic program are karate, wushu, kickboxing, pencak silat, muay, jujitsu, chess, petanque, esports, duathlon, sepak takraw, traditional boat race, and bowling. The percentage of Vietnam's gold medal-winning sports included in the 2028 Olympic program stands at 51,85%.

Among the top 6 Southeast Asian sports delegations, comprising Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore, Vietnam ranked last by this metric. Singapore led with 70,59%, followed by Philippines with 70,37%, Indonesia with 64,86%, Thailand with 63,64%, and Malaysia with 56,52%.

Excluding medals from non-Olympic sports, Vietnam earned 62 gold medals, accounting for 71,26% of its total golds. This percentage was only surpassed by Singapore (88,46%), Philippines (80%), and Indonesia (73,63%). The four sports where Vietnam won the most gold medals at SEA Games 33 – athletics, wrestling, shooting, and swimming – are all Olympic sports.

Thailand's percentage was the lowest at 55,36%, as they secured many gold medals in specialized sports such as jujitsu (14), muay (11), snooker (6), sepak takraw (6), teqball (5), and petanque (5).

Thailand still led in the number of gold medals from Olympic sports, with 129. They demonstrated absolute strength in boxing (14 gold medals), athletics (13), canoeing (10), taekwondo (10), cycling (10), and weightlifting (9). Other sports like swimming (5), gymnastics (6), golf (4), tennis (three), and badminton (three) also made significant contributions.

Hoang Thi Minh Hanh, Nguyen Thi Hang, Le Thi Tuyet Mai, and Nguyen Thi Ngoc (from left) receive gold medals for the women's 4x400m relay at Supachalasai Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand on 16/12. Photo: Duc Dong

Hoang Thi Minh Hanh, Nguyen Thi Hang, Le Thi Tuyet Mai, and Nguyen Thi Ngoc (from left) receive gold medals for the women's 4x400m relay at Supachalasai Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand on 16/12. Photo: Duc Dong

Indonesia garnered 67 gold medals from Olympic sports, slightly more than Vietnam. They won gold medals in a wider range of sports than Vietnam due to a diversified investment strategy, with 1,021 athletes competing in 49 of the 50 sports. In contrast, Vietnam had 841 athletes participating in 37 sports at SEA Games 33.

These statistics indicate that Singapore and the Philippines prioritize Olympic sports, with their gold medal percentages in Olympic categories both reaching 80% or more. These two nations also significantly outpaced their rivals in the proportion of SEA Games gold medal-winning sports included in the Olympic program.

Vietnam's distinct advantage over other regional delegations lies in the quality of its individual athletes. Considering the gold medal-to-athlete ratio, the delegation ranked second with 10,34%, trailing only the host nation at 12,89%. Indonesia followed with 8,91%, Singapore with 5,59%, Malaysia with 4,99%, and the Philippines with 4,28%.

Regarding competitive results, most Vietnamese athletes remain far from Olympic A standards. For instance, in women's high jump, Bui Thi Kim Anh won a gold medal with a superior performance of 1,86 m, compared to second-place Mariel Abuan's 1,80 m. However, the Olympic 2024 A standard for this event is 1,97 m.

Vietnam's greatest Olympic hope currently remains female shooter Trinh Thu Vinh. Her score of 242,7 points in the women's 10m air pistol final is equivalent to a silver medal at the Olympic 2024. Her score of 34 points in the women's 25m pistol final also matches a bronze medal at the Olympic 2024.

Trinh Thu Vinh during the mixed team 10m air pistol final at SEA Games 33 in Ratchaburi, Thailand on 15/12. Photo: Hieu Luong

Trinh Thu Vinh during the mixed team 10m air pistol final at SEA Games 33 in Ratchaburi, Thailand on 15/12. Photo: Hieu Luong

Another sport that previously brought Olympic success to Vietnam—weightlifting, with Hoang Anh Tuan in Beijing 2008 and Tran Le Quoc Toan in London 2012—only secured one gold medal at SEA Games 33, from Tran Dinh Thang in the over 94kg category. However, this event is not part of the Olympic program. His total lift of 366 kg would only rank 8th when compared to lifters in the under 89kg category at the Olympic 2024.

Top Southeast Asian delegations possess unique strengths for the Olympics. Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia all have the potential to win medals, even gold, in badminton on a good day. Thailand also excels in taekwondo, the Philippines boasts Carlos Yulo in artistic gymnastics, Indonesia is strong in sport climbing, while Malaysia and Singapore are competitive in sailing.

At SEA Games 33, Vietnamese sports did not uncover new talents capable of contending for medals at the Olympic 2028. The Games are still over two years away, but the delegation must continue to strive if it wishes to avoid a third consecutive Olympic Games without medals.

Xuan Binh