Hai Phong, April 7 (VNA) – Rowers and canoers are training hard in anticipation of the competitions at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) slated for May.

With the boat racing training area in northern port city of Hai Phong’s Thuy Nguyen district selected as the venue, athletes will compete from May 9-14, while canoeing events will take place from May 17-21.

Head coach of the canoeing team Can Anh Tuan said the squad has 46 members aged from 18 to 32 years old who will compete in 19 events of the sport.

According to him, due to COVID-19 impact, they have not competed in tournaments for the past two years, which is also a limitation for their professional work. However, the athletes are training hard for the sporting event.

Head coach of the 29-member rowing team Le Van Quang said that the athletes, aged from 18 to 29, are targeting five to six gold medals.

Over the past years, the two sports reaped many successes for Vietnam in the continental arena, including a gold medal for canoeing at the 2018 Asian Games (ASIAD)./.