Why did Ly Hoang Nam withdraw from SEA Games 32?

Ly Hoang Nam officially will not attend SEA Games 32 - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH

The General Department of Sports and Physical Training has agreed to Ly Hoang Nam's wish so that he can focus on winning a ticket to the qualifying round of the 2023 French Open - one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments of the year.

Previously, the General Department of Sports and Physical Training decided to call the Vietnamese tennis team to prepare for the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia.

Decided to focus on 5 male athletes, 5athleteThe women's team is managed by the Ho Chi Minh City National Sports Training Center from January 17 to June 30. Among them is tennis player Ly Hoang Nam - who won two gold medals in the men's singles at two consecutive SEA Games, 30 and 31.

Withdrawal from SEA Games due to Grand Slam tournaments

However, recently, Mr. Nguyen Phi Anh Vu - Director of Hai Dang Sports Company (the management unit of tennis player Ly Hoang Nam) - sent an official dispatch to the General Department of Sports and Physical Training and the Vietnam Tennis Federation (VTF) requesting to withdraw.athleteLy Hoang Nam, coach Tran Quoc Phong, expert Ivan Miranda left the team.

Hai Dang Club explained the decision to withdraw Ly Hoang Nam from the SEA Games as follows: "With the goal of participating in the qualifying rounds of Grand Slam tournaments, most recently the Roland Garros tournament taking place in France from May 22 to June 11, the coaching staff has planned for Ly Hoang Nam to participate in warm-up tournaments on clay courts from the beginning of May.

But because the time of these tournaments coincides with the time of SEA Games 32,ClubHai Dang tennis pleasecoachTran Quoc Phong, expert Ivan Miranda and Ly Hoang Nam were allowed to leave the Vietnam tennis team to focus on preparing for the goal of participating in Grand Slam tournaments in 2023.

Ly Hoang Nam won the 2019 and 2021 SEA Games, so now he is eager to challenge himself in the world's top professional tournaments.

Currently, Hoang Nam is ranked 246th in the world. He needs to accumulate about 50 more points to reach around 220th in the world to have any hope of participating in the French Open qualifying round.

If he can qualify for the Grand Slam, it will be a huge step in Ly Hoang Nam's career as well as Vietnamese tennis.

Without Hoang Nam, tennis is not assigned a target to win.gold medal

On February 17, Mr. Tran Duc Phan - Deputy Director General of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training - chaired a meeting with the tennis department, Department of High Performance Sports 2, Vietnam Tennis Federation, the management unit of Ly Hoang Nam on this issue.

At the end of the meeting, Mr. Tran Duc Phan said that the sports industry highly appreciates Ly Hoang Nam's contributions to Vietnamese sports over the years. The General Department of Sports and Physical Training respects Ly Hoang Nam's personal decision and the management unit's decision to let Hoang Nam focus on his goal at the Grand Slam and not participate in the 32nd SEA Games.

However, Ly Hoang Nam's departure from the Vietnam tennis team is only temporary because of the goal of Grand Slam. The Vietnam tennis team always welcomes Ly Hoang Nam to participate in future tournaments.

Because Ly Hoang Nam withdrew from the 32nd SEA Games, the target for tennis at the event was also lowered. Instead of setting the target of winning 1 to 2gold medal, tennis is not registered and is not assigned a target to wingold medalat SEA Games 32.

According to Tuoi Tre