Gymnast Phan Thi Ha Thanh

HCM CITY (VNS)— The annual vote to select the ten best athletes and five best coaches of 2012 will be held tomorrow in Ha Noi, Da Nang and HCM City.

The vote, in which dozens of sports reporters and journalists across the country will make their choice, will also choose five top disabled athletes and three best coaches of disabled athletes.

Viet Nam News looks at some of the potential candidates for the final list.

Female gymnast Phan Thi Ha Thanh is definitely the first name in the reckoning for the list of top ten athletes this year.

 

Swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien

It is very likely that Hai Phong Port City's 21-year-old petite beauty will top the list for the second consecutive year.

2012 has been a year of a roaring success for Thanh, becoming one of the first Vietnamese athletes to win a ticket to the London Olympics.

She became the first Vietnamese gymnast to win a gold medal in the women's vault event at the 2012 Asian Gymnastics Championship in Putian, China.

Then she carried her excellent form into the world gymnastics championships in the Czech Republic to win a gold medal in her favourite vault event. It was Viet Nam's first gold medal in world gymnastics.

 

Badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh

Another candidate likely to get a large number of votes this year is veteran shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh.

The Olympian shooter put on a brilliant performance in London but missed out narrowly on a podium finish, standing fourth in the men's 50m pistol event just 0.1 point adrift of the eventual bronze medallist.

The 38-year-old shooter, however, found fulfillment at the Asian Shooting Championship in Nanchang, China, when he came out on top in the men's 10m pistol event to win the first continental shooting gold medal for the country.

Nguyen Thi Anh Vien has established herself as one of the best swimmers in Viet Nam at the moment, winning five gold medals at the Southeast Asian Swimming Championship.

The 16-year-old Olympian also brought home two of the nation's first continental swimming medals, winning a silver and a bronze medal at the Asian Swimming Championship in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

 

Fencer Nguyen Tien Nhat (right)

Veteran badminton ace and two-time Olympian Nguyen Tien Minh is always a safe bet for the top ten athletes list, considering his achievements and devotion to the sport.

Although he is said to have crossed his peak, Minh managed to add two more titles to his trophy cabinet, the Viet Nam Open and Taipei Grand Prix, in 2012.

Nguyen Tien Nhat also made it big in 2012, becoming the first ever Vietnamese fencer to compete in the Olympics.

The flag bearer for Viet Nam in London helped the country dominate the Southeast Asia Fencing Championship in November.

 

Chess master Nguyen Anh Khoi (right)

Chess prodigy Nguyen Anh Khoi, only the second child athlete to win gold at the world's U10 chess championship, is another strong contender for the top 10 list.

Other noticeable athletes are male gymnasts Phan Ha Thanh and Olympian Pham Phuoc Hung, cyclist Mai Nguyen Hung, female footballers Le Thi Thuong and Dang Thi Kieu Trinh and male football midfielder Nguyen Minh Phuong.

Frontrunners in the race for the top five best coaches are the national gymnastic team's head coach Do Thi Giang and the national shooting team's head coach Nguyen Thi Nhung.

 

Gymnast Pham Phuoc Hung

Dang Anh Tuan, Vien's coach, is another deserving candidate for the top five list.

After guiding SHB Da Nang to the V-League 2012 title, their second in three years, Le Huynh Duc, the most successful young coach in the nation's football history, should easily make the top five list this year.

Fencing coach Nguyen Thi Kim Nga should also be in the reckoning for a top spot. — VNS