The South of Vietnam's football team won the gold medal at the 1959 SEAP Games. Photo: Documentary

In October 1958, on the 3rd Asian Games held in Tokyo, Japan, Vice-President of the Thailand Olympic Committee Laung Sukhumnaipradit proposed the establishment of a sports organization called The South East Asian Peninsular Games Federation or SEAP Games Federation, and is agreed upon by countries in the region.

Gold medal in men's football

The South East Asian Peninsular Games Federation is held every 2 years, alternating between the Olympic and Asian Games (ASIAD). It is a regional sports festival that aims to strengthen friendship, solidarity and mutual understanding among countries, improve the achievements, techniques and tactics of sports.

The South of Vietnam (representing Vietnam) only participated in a few sports in their debut in the SEAP Games. Most of the medals won were in Olympic sports such as football, swimming, table tennis, volleyball, bicycle, tennis and judo.

The most impressive achievement during this period of sports in South Vietnam was the gold medal in men's football at the 1st SEAP Games - 1959. Tennis, swimming have contributed significantly to the achievement of 5 gold medals, 5 silver and 6 bronze medals.

Photo: VTV

Attending SEAP Games by road

To prepare for the SEAP Games I in Thailand, the South of Vietnam team had a friendly match with Japan in Saigon. That time, the Vietnamese team won 3-0.

Seven of the participating players including Pham Van Rang, Nguyen Van Cut, Pham Van Hieu, Le Van Ho, Tran Van Nhung, Do Quang Thach and Nguyen Van Tu participated in the final round of the 1956 AFC Asian Cup. Additional people such as Le Van Ty, Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, Do Thoi Vinh and Ha Tam were all famous names at that time.

Then Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc presents the trophy to Vietnam at the 2018 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup. Photo: VNA

When they arrived in Bangkok, they did not have enough time to rest because they had to travel entirely by road through the Cambodian border gate. However, with a high level of expertise, experience and enthusiasm, the team of South of Vietnam beat Thailand 4-0 and Myanmar 3-0.

Entering the final with Thailand's second-place team, the Vietnamese team did not falter under pressure from the host audience and the Thai players on the field. Do Thoi Vinh opened the scoring in the 21st minute and then, Sathan equalized for Thailand in the 31st minute. At the end of the first half, Do Quang Thach raised the score to 2-1, and Ha Tam scored the final victory 3- 1 at the end of the game.

The Vietnamese flag flies alongside those of other Southeast Asian nations at the 25th SEA Games. Photo: VNA

Vietnam would go on to win the gold medals again in 2019. Both the men's and women's football team beat Indonesia and Thailand, respectively. Now the nation is abuzz about the upcoming SEA Games. Hopefully, Vietnam will add to its gold medal collection in the post-pandemic era.

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