A ceremony to honour athletes and coaches of Da Nang who had outstanding performances at the recently-concluded 31^st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) was held by the municipal Department of Culture and Sports on Monday.

Standing Deputy Secretary of the Da Nang Party Committee Luong Nguyen Minh Triet (left) presenting flowers and Certificates of Merit to coaches and athletes in honour of their great achievements at SEA Games 31. Photo: XUAN DUNG

Present at the ceremony were Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Da Nang Party Committee cum Chairman of the municipal People's Council Luong Nguyen Minh Triet, and Vice Chairwoman of the municipal People's Committee Ngo Thi Kim Yen.

In her congratulatory speech delivered at the event, Vice Chairwoman Yen congratulated excellent achievements that coaches and athletes of the Da Nang sports delegation have achieved at the just-concluded SEA Games 31. She also acknowledged the great efforts made by local coaches and athletes in particular, and the entire local sports sector in general.

She, at the same time, remarked that the great achievements of the Da Nang sports delegation at SEA Games 31 were mainly attributed to the efforts and determination made by local coaches and athletes, and the special care and support of their families and relatives.

Mrs. Yen reaffirmed the city's methodical leadership, orientation and strategy for promoting the development of local high-achievement sports over the past years. She also took the opportunity to suggest government departments and agencies, authorities at all levels, and branches, pay more attention to sports by practical activities.

In the immediate future, heed should be on proposing specific support mechanisms and policies to detect and train many talented athletes for the city, as well as stepping up the construction of international-standard training and competition facilities to host large-scale sports events.

Besides, continued efforts should be needed to improve the quality of training programmes for young athletes and the next force, especially for the gifted and talented, and well implement regimes and policies in training and competition as well as the remuneration for coaches and athletes with many contributions.

Vice Chairwoman of the municipal People's Committee Ngo Thi Kim Yen (middle) awarding Certificates of Merit to outstanding coaches and athletes. Photo: Xuan Dung

At SEA Games 31, Viet Nam finished first in the overall medal count with 205 gold, 125 silver, and 116 bronze medals.

Amongst, Da Nang’s athletes contributed 14 gold, 9 silver, and 8 bronze medals. Most notably, three local athletes brought home two, even three gold medals. Five athletes of Da Nang broke SEA Games records and set new records.

In recognition of the above-mentioned achievements and efforts, the municipal People's Committee decided to award Certificates of Merit and cash bonuses of nearly VND1.1 billion in total to 23 medalists and 20 coaches who directly got involved in training at SEA Games 31.

Moreover, the coaches and athletes are entitled to a remuneration regime as prescribed in the Da Nang People's Council-adopted Resolution No. 106/2015/NQ-HDND dated July 9, 2015.

Accordingly, gold medalists will see their monthly wage rise 11 times for two years, silver medalists 6 times, and bronze medalists 4 times.   

On this occasion, the Da Nang Youth Union presented Certificates of Merit to 13 athletes of Youth Union age in honour of their excellent achievements at SEA Games 31.

Reporting by XUAN DUNG - Translating by M.DUNG