Vietnam rushes preparations for 33rd SEA Games

Thousands of Vietnamese athletes training at national sports centers are actively preparing for the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, with Vietnam aiming to rank among the top countries at the event.

The 33rd SEA Games will take place from December 9 to 20, 2025 in Bangkok, Chonburi, and Songkhla, Thailand.

The Vietnamese sports delegation aims to win between 80 and 100 gold medals.

According to the Sports Authority of Vietnam, Vietnam is set to send one of its largest-ever delegations to the 33rd SEA Games, with more than 1,000 athletes, coaches, medical staff, experts, and officials expected to participate.

The delegation will compete in 45 of the 66 sports and disciplines featured at the Games.

The Vietnamese sports teams are divided into three groups, with the main group targeting gold medals in athletics, swimming, shooting, archery, wrestling, taekwondo, karate, weightlifting, fencing, canoeing, gymnastics, boxing, judo, football, table tennis, indoor volleyball, handball, pétanque, 3×3 basketball, golf, sepak takraw, cycling, and chess, among others.

On September 17, Nguyen Danh Hoang Viet, director of the Sports Authority of Vietnam, inspected preparations for athletes competing in international sports events in 2025 at the national sports training center in Hanoi.

Nearly 800 coaches and athletes from 23 teams are training intensely on the 33rd SEA Games and the 2026 Asian Games.

The center’s leadership confirmed that all teams receive proper nutrition and dietary supplements, but many still lack recovery doctors.

Head coach of the athletics team, Nguyen Manh Hieu, requested upgrades to the athletics stadium due to deterioration and called for improvements to the strength training room and the addition of medical staff to support athletes’ recovery amid increasing training loads.

The karate, wushu, sepak takraw, and taekwondo teams also requested more medical personnel for athlete health care and recovery.

The judo team coach asked for massage machines and ice-making equipment to aid athletes after training sessions.

Viet promised to purchase ice machines immediately to support athlete recovery.

He agreed with plans to send key teams for training camps domestically and abroad at suitable locations before the 33rd SEA Games.

The Vietnamese Sports Hospital was asked to assign medical staff to assist with athlete care and recovery.

All dietary supplements used by athletes must be carefully checked to avoid any doping-related issues.

Athletics aims to win 12–14 gold medals at 33rd SEA Games

At the 32nd SEA Games in 2023, Vietnamese athletics won 12 gold medals out of 47 events but lost the top position in Southeast Asia to Thailand, which earned 16 gold medals.

The target was 14–16 gold medals but was not achieved.

At the 31st SEA Games in 2022 on home soil, Vietnamese athletics won 22 gold medals and ranked first, while Thailand earned 12 golds.

At the 30th SEA Games in 2019 in the Philippines, Vietnam also topped Southeast Asia in athletics with 16 gold medals, ahead of Thailand’s 12.

Vietnamese athletics’ target for the 33rd SEA Games is to win 12–14 gold medals.

Coach Nguyen Manh Hieu said that from October 1 to 23, the women’s 400m team will train in France under coach Nguyen Thi Bac.

The men’s 400m, 800m, 1,500m, and high jump groups will train in Nanning, China, from mid-October to mid-November.

With the 33rd SEA Games held in Thailand, the rivalry between Vietnamese and Thai athletics is expected to be fiercer than ever, making this year’s event particularly challenging for Vietnam’s athletics and sports overall.

According to new international athletics regulations effective from September 2025, female athletes must undergo a one-time SRY gene test to confirm biological sex, using either a blood sample or a cheek swab.

All female Vietnamese athletics athletes competing at the 33rd SEA Games are required to take this test. 

By Thanh Ha & Khuong Xuan – Tuoi Tre News – September 22, 2025