China has made special contributions to the development and success of Hanoi’s athletes and sports, said Dao Quoc Thang, director of the Hanoi Sports Training and Competition Center.

Dao Quoc Thang, director of the Hanoi Sports Training and Competition Center. Photo: Minh Tuan

Guangxi, a China province that shares borders with Northern Vietnam, has been the “solid rear” of Hanoi’s sports for years as many athlete teams have been sent to that province for training, Thang said at a conference of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association of Hanoi last weekend.

In addition to Guangxi, Hanoi athletes have been sent for training and competing in Guangdong, Wuhan and Shanghai. “Hanoi has special bonds with China and Chinese municipalities when it comes to sports,” Thang stressed.

Over the past year, Hanoi has sent athletes of eight Olympic sports to China for training, including weight-lifting, Wushu, Taekwondo, wrestling, table-tennis, and underwater sports. Chinese trainers in Hanoi now focus on two spearhead sports namely weight-lifting and underwater sports, Thang added.

Thang boasted that in the recently-concluded SEA Games in the Philippines, Hanoi athletes won 34 gold, 27 silver and 26 bronze medals, making up 34.7% of the medal tally of Vietnam. “Chinese trainers made special contributions to that success,” Thang said, adding that Vuong Thi Huyen, a gold medal winner of weight-lifting from Hanoi, had a training period in Guangxi.