Vietnam coming on strong

In 1997, then-Philippine National Shooting Association president Carlos (Butch) Tuason predicted the emergence of Vietnam as a sports power in Southeast Asia. Tuason said Vietnam was "hungry for recognition" and drove its athletes hard with a military-style of training.

Today, Tuason is the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman. Only four years after Tuason’s prediction, Vietnam is making inroads at the 21st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur and Tuason saw it coming all along.

Ravaged by war, Vietnam was determined to pick up the pieces after a 30-year strife ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975. The independent Socialist Republic of Vietnam was established on July 2, 1976, and six months later, its National Olympic Committee (NOC) reapplied for international recognition.

The original NOC for Vietnam – then a part of Indochina which included Cambodia and Laos – was founded on Nov. 25, 1951 and recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1952. At the end of the nine-year Indochina conflict in 1954, Vietnam was split into North and South, triggering a civil war that raged until 1975.

In 1980, Vietnam was readmitted into the Olympic family and marked its return to international competition at the Moscow Games. It joined the Soviet boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Games but was back in action at Seoul in 1988. Vietnam has since participated in every Olympics.

At the 2000 Sydney Games, Vietnam bagged its first-ever Olympic medal, a gold from Tan Hieu Ngan in the 126-pound division of women’s taekwondo. Enroute to the podium, Tran eliminated the Philippines’ Jasmin Strachan, 8-3, in the second round of eliminations. She was later declared a national hero in Vietnam and given a rousing welcome upon her return home. Vietnam sent only seven athletes to Sydney, compared to 20 Filipinos who failed to claim a single medal.

The only other Southeast Asian countries to land in the Sydney medal standings were Indonesia and Thailand. Indonesia got a gold from the men’s doubles in badminton, three silvers, and two bronzes. Thailand pocketed a gold from boxing and two bronzes.

Before Tran struck paydirt in Sydney, Vietnam’s Olympic hero was Quoc Chuong Nguyen who finished 13th of 32 shooters in rapid-fire pistol at the 1988 Seoul Games.

It’s been uphill for Vietnam at the SEA Games since the 1991 conclave in Manila where 113 athletes took part in 13 sports, including arnis. Vietnam picked up seven golds, 12 silvers, and 10 bronzes to finish seventh overall. The golds came from taekwondo (four) and one each from judo, shooting, and table tennis.

In 1993, Vietnam moved up to sixth in the SEA Games ladder and raised its medal haul to nine golds, six silvers, and 19 bronzes. Two years later, in Chiang Mai, Vietnam took 10 golds, 18 silvers, and 24 bronzes to retain sixth spot.

Vietnam broke out at the 1997 Games in Jakarta as it vaulted to fifth with a harvest of 35 golds, 48 silvers, and 50 bronzes. Over 200 athletes participated in only 14 events as Vietnam proved tough in shooting and the martial arts.

At the Brunei Games in 1999, Vietnam slid to sixth but nearly dislodged the Philippines from fifth place. Vietnam collected 17 golds, 20 silvers, and 27 bronzes. It had a shot at another gold but lost a 2-0 decision to Thailand in the football finals. Vietnam bagged seven golds from pencak silat, four from karate, three from taekwondo, two from athletics, and one from cycling.

Vietnamese athletes garnered medals in eight sports. In contrast, Filipinos collected 20 golds, 26 silvers, and 40 bronzes in 17 disciplines. Pencak silat delivered the most medals for Vietnam with four silvers and two bronzes aside from seven golds. Vietnam could’ve collected more medals if not for the limited program in Brunei where judo, weightlifting, wushu, volleyball, archery, and gymnastics, among others, were struck out.

Tuason was alarmed by Vietnam’s reawakening in 1997. Will Vietnam finally overtake the Philippines in Kuala Lumpur?