Marksman Pham Quang Huy competes at the Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games. (Photo: VNA) The continental competition which is the Asian zonal Olympicqualification, will see many athletes competing in 18 events for men and 14 forwomen, along with four for mixed teams. Junior athletes will also have a chanceto shine in eight events for both individual and team classes.
There are 16 Olympic tickets available for shooters in 10m airrifle, 50m rifle three positions, 10m air pistol, 25m rapid fire pistol, and25m air pistol events.
Head coach Park Chung-gun has picked the best 11 athletes to takepart in a two-week training course in Jakarta, before beginning the tournamentfrom January 8-18.
Among them Asian Games champion Pham Quang Huy is expected to earnan Olympic ticket with his strong point of men's 10m air pistol.
The 27-year-old, voted the Best Athlete of 2023, said he had astrong desire to make his Olympic dream come true after missing opportunitiesat 2023 competitions.
According to the coaching board, if Huy could maintain his bestperformance, and with a little luck, he would make it.
Other potential athletes are 2023 Asian Cup bronze medallistNguyen Thuy Trang, 2023 Asian championship medal holders Phan Xuan Chuyen, PhanCong Minh and Lai Cong Minh.
After Jakarta, athletes will take part in the world tournament inApril in Brazil, the last Olympic qualification.
Currently, Vietnam have earned one place at the Paris Games forTrinh Thi Thu Vinh, who placed fifth at the 2023 world championships' women's10m air pistol.
Vietnamese sport officials in a recent meeting reviewingperformance in 2023 and setting targets for 2024 believed that shooting wouldgain more slots in the new year.
“When discussing with the coaching board and Park, they confirmedto us the possibility of taking a second official spot," said Hoang QuocVinh of the Sports Authority of Vietnam.
"We all are looking forward to the positive results of thetournament in Indonesia," said Vinh, adding that the Vietnamese team notonly aims to have more Olympic qualified athletes, but also to take a medal inthis arena./.
VNA
