Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam’s sports sector is doing all it can to turndifficulties into advantages for athletes in the race for berths at the Tokyo OlympicGames.

TheCOVID-19 pandemic has forced the cancellation of many international sportingevents, hindering the Vietnam Sports Administration (VSA)’s plans for athletesto train abroad.

TheVSA is now assessing the achievements by athletes and Olympic qualifyingstandards to devise specific training plans for promising ones.

Vietnameseathletes have also been preparing for the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games31) on their home turf scheduled for November and December next year.

Vietnamsent 23 athletes to the Rio Olympics in Brazil in 2016 and now aims to have upto 20 athletes attend the Tokyo Games.

Onlyfive, however, have secured their tickets to Tokyo, including gymnast Le ThanhTung, swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang, archers Do Thi Anh Nguyet and Nguyen Hoang PhiVu, and boxer Nguyen Van Duong.

TheOlympic Games were to take place in August but have been delayed to summer nextyear due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They will, however, retain the name “Tokyo 2020”,according to the International Olympic Committee.

Onlysome 57 percent of Olympic spots have been determined, and some athletes havebeen infected with COVID-19./.