This is Vietnam’s largest-ever delegation to attend an Olympic even and the group will be led by Lam Quang Thanh, deputy head of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training.
Vietnam will compete at 11 categories at the tournament, including gymnastics (Ha Thanh, Ngan Thuong, Phuoc Hung), shooting (Xuan Vinh, Hoang Ngoc), judo (Ngoc Tu), track and field (Viet Anh, Thanh Phuc), weightlifting (Quoc Toan, Nguyen Thi Thuy), rowing (Pham Thi Hai, Pham Thi Thao), badminton (Tien Minh), taekwondo (Huynh Chau, Dieu Linh), fencing (Tien Nhat), wrestling (Nguyen Thi Lua), and swimming (Anh Vien).
The sporting department and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism will meet with the delegation prior to their London departure on July 8.
Some insiders have expressed concerns over the fact that the number of non-competing officials in the delegation is more than double that of those who will really compete for the medals, Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reported.
But head of the delegation Thanh told the newspaper that “this is normal for an athlete to be accompanied by their coach and expert during an international tournament.”
“We are trying our best to support the athletes, and the number of people to go to London this summer is totally reasonable,” he said.
The gymnastic group includes 3 athletes and four experts, while the two taekwondo marital artists are escorted by two Korean experts.
“Moreover, there are seven out of the 56 people in the delegation who are not sporting officials but reporters and journalists from news agencies under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism,” Thanh told Nguoi Lao Dong.
Meanwhile, high-jumper Duong Thi Viet Anh and race walker Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc are set to leave for London next week to prepare for the Olympic, despite their injuries.
Anh achieved the Olympic qualifying standard B after jumping over the 1.92m height at the 2012 Asian Grand Prix in Kazakhstan, while Phuc made a similar achievement in the 2012 Asian Race Walking Championships.