Asiad 20 Diary September 29: Sepak Takraw Wins Gold, Athletics Unsuccessful

September 29 continued to be a day of intense competition for the Vietnamese sports delegation at Asiad 20 (Aichi–Nagoya 2026). While sepak takraw brought home the second gold medal in a convincing fashion, athletics ended the day with disappointing results, pushing the dream of medals in this discipline further away. Opening the day's competition, the women's sepak takraw team created a major boost by defeating the Philippines 2-0 (15-8, 15-4) in the final. This is the second gold medal for the Vietnamese delegation at this Asiad, reaffirming Vietnam's number one position in Southeast Asian sepak takraw. This victory not only brought joy to fans but also provided momentum for other teams ahead of the final days of competition. However, that joy was quickly overshadowed by the gloomy atmosphere of athletics. In the women's high jump, athlete Dương Thị Thảo finished only 6th, a result that did not meet the coaching staff's expectations. Meanwhile, in the women's 4x400m relay, the Vietnamese team with veterans such as Nguyễn Thị Ngọc, Quách Thị Lan, Nguyễn Thị Hằng also finished 5th. The most disappointing result came from the men's 4x400m relay when the Vietnamese men finished last (8th). Looking at the overall picture, Vietnamese athletics still has no medal at this Asiad. This raises a big question about the investment and development strategy for this discipline. While regional countries like China, Japan, and India continuously improve their performances and create squad depth, Vietnamese athletics still relies on a group of veteran athletes past their peak form. Notably, even in the Vietnamese delegation's medal plan, athletics is no longer mentioned in the list of sports expected to bring gold medals in the final days. Instead, hopes are placed on boxing, shooting, and sepak takraw. This is a clear signal that experts have assessed Vietnamese athletics' competitiveness at the continental level as low. The gap between SEA Games and Asiad performances reveals a structural problem: Vietnamese athletics is stuck in the 'making finals but unable to compete for medals' band at the continental level. This is not a failure of individual athletes but the result of a training system that has not created sufficient depth in the next generation. Meanwhile, with the second gold from sepak takraw, the Vietnamese delegation is aiming for the target of 4 gold medals. With 2 golds, 1 silver, and 17 bronzes, the top-20 position is being maintained. But the biggest question is not how many medals the Vietnamese delegation will win, but when Vietnamese athletics can stand on the podium at an Asiad. In an 18m² room, I watched 52 matches and a revolution. Today, I watched Vietnamese athletes run their hearts out without a single camera pointed at them. They don't need a position. They need a seat that gets written about. The fate of Vietnamese athletics lies not in today's results but in whether we can see the cracks and start rebuilding from the foundation. Because the score of 1,937–63 is not on the field; it's on the front pages.