Securing the first gold medal for Vietnamese track and field in the Asian Games, Thao from Hanoi topped the list with 700 points, 78 points higher than footballer Nguyen Quang Hai from the Hanoi FC, who made great contributions to helping Vietnam win the trophy of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup 2018 and was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang from the central province of Quang Binh ranked third with 462 points thanks to his silver medal pocketed at ASIAD 2018.
In the list of outstanding disabled athletes, swimmer Vo Thanh Tung ranked first with 385 points after bagging three gold and two silver medals at the 2018 Asian Para Games in October. He was followed by weightlifters Nguyen Binh An and Dang Thi Linh Phuong, with 276 points and 186 points, respectively.
Meanwhile, track and field coach Nguyen Manh Hieu came first in the list of outstanding coaches with 296 points as he had trained ASIAD medalists, including Thao and Vu Thi Men who won a bronze medal in the women’s triple jump.
Swimming coach Bui Thanh Tam topped the list of prominent coaches for athletes with disabilities.
The rankings were revealed by the poll organizing board on December 27 night.
The annual poll is jointly held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnam Olympic Committee, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee, and the Vietnam Sports Administration, aiming to honour outstanding individuals of the sports sector.
The Top 10 sports events in 2018 are:
1: After a decade of waiting, Vietnam once again lifted the AFF Suzuki Cup by beating Malaysia 3-2 on aggregate.
2: The U23 football team finished second at the AFC U23 Championship held in China in January, the country’s best ever finish at a regional-level event.
3: Hanoi was chosen to host a Formula 1 race for 10 years, with the first race slated for April 2020. It will be held on the streets close to Mỹ Đình National Stadium.
4: Vietnam at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia (see above).
5: Vietnam bagged a total of 40 medals - eight gold, eight silver and 24 bronze - at the Asian Para Games in Indonesia, ranking 12th out of 33 teams. Swimmer Võ Thanh Tùng won three gold medals, breaking an Asian record and two records of the Games.
6: Swimmer Nguyễn Huy Hoàng won a gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina in the men’s 800m freestyle and weightlifter Ngô Đỉnh Sơn also brought home a gold medal in the men’s 56kg event.
7: Nguyễn Ngọc Trường Sơn won a gold medal at the 2018 World Chess Olympiad in Georgia.
8: Vietnam was chosen to host the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and Para Games 11 in 2021, from October to December.
9: The National Sports Games, a multi-sport event held every four years, closed with more than 200 national records broken. Swimmer Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên of the Military team was the top athlete with 12 gold medals. She broke seven Games records and two national records. With 176 gold, 149 silver and 139 bronze medals, Hanoi triumphed at the event, followed by HCM City and the Military team.
10: Lý Hoàng Nam ended the year ranked No. 404 in the ATP rankings, the highest ranking ever for any Vietnamese tennis player. (Vietnamnet.vn)