After 14 long years of waiting, Vietnamese baseball achieved its first victory in the Southeast Asian Games, defeating Malaysia in the 33rd Games, and thus celebrated the joy of victory for the first time on the regional stage.
Under the scorching heat of Bangkok, the Vietnamese baseball team played with great effort and won 5-2 against Malaysia after 9 innings that lasted nearly two and a half hours.
This victory is very significant, as it allowed us to overcome the defeat against the host country Thailand in the opening match, marking an important milestone in terms of mental maturity and courage.
Coach Park Hyo-chul is very close to coach Kim Sang-sik.
The 33-year-old Ngo Duc Thuy said happily: “I feel the same way I did 14 years ago, during our first match at the 2011 Southeast Asian Games. After our defeat against Thailand, the whole team came together to learn from the experience and encourage each other to fight with determination. Today’s victory rewards our solidarity. »
development potential
Baseball is still a recent sport, not very popular in Vietnam, weak and lacking development in many respects, particularly in terms of the number of players, fields and coaches, compared to the region’s flagship sports.
However, this year, Vietnamese baseball is determined to shine, with strong social support. Coach Park Hyo-chul said, “I would like to thank the Vietnam Baseball and Softball Federation for creating the best conditions for the team to participate in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games. »
Vietnamese baseball is considered to have good development potential.
I once joked with coach Kim Sang-sik that I was jealous because baseball was not as popular as Vietnamese football, but Vietnam actually had great potential to develop the sport.
It is common knowledge that in life, Mr. Park Hyo-chul has a very close relationship with Kim Sang-sik, coach of the Vietnamese national under-23 team. Mr. Park is one of the few friends of this military leader born in 1976 in Vietnam.
The head of the delegation, Hoang Trung Kien, also highlighted: “The team has achieved an impressive turnaround for Vietnamese baseball. This success will be a driving force for development, will contribute to its regional influence and, at the same time, will promote international exchanges and cooperation in the field of sport. »
The Vietnamese baseball team will play four consecutive matches in four days, in addition to participating in the 5-a-side baseball event for men and women, a completely new format that will appear for the first time in the Southeast Asian Games, starting on December 11.
