A high-ranking delegation from the Vietnam People's Army (VPA), led by Lieutenant General Phung Si Tan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, attended the closing ceremony.
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Lieutenant General Phung Si Tan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, attends the closing ceremony. |
This year, the VPA took part in the most events ever, with teams competing in 15 out of 34 contests. Meanwhile, the country hosted two events of the games for first time. 2021 makes a great milestone of the VPA in its participation in the Army Games.
Major General Alexander Peryazev, Deputy Chief of the General Department of Combat Training under the Russian Armed Forces and Chief Referee of the Army Games 2021, lauded the VPA's preparation and hosting of the Army Games 2021's “Sniper Frontier” and “Emergency Area” contests. “I watched the opening ceremony, which was live-streamed from Vietnam. It was very noteworthy. It is a great pride for both countries as the Vietnam's, Russia's, and the Army Games flags raised together in Vietnam,” said Major General Alexander Peryazev. He also highlighted the great achievements of the VPA’s contingents in this year's games.
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Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General of the Army Valery Gerasimov speaks at the ceremony. |
They were shown in “Sea Cup,” “Meridian,” “Tactical Shooter,” “Army of Culture,” and “Gunsmith Master” contests, which the country has joined for the first time. In the “Sea Cup” event, the VPA dispatched two frigates to Vladivostok, the 015-Tran Hung Dao and the 016-Quang Trung. As a result, the Vietnamese Naval Contingent clinched the silver medal for their outstanding performances. Besides, the Meridian troops took home the bronze medal, while the Vietnamese Tactical Shooter Contingent ranked fourth out of the ten participating countries.
Anatoly Georgievich Kontsevoi, Deputy Commander of the Airborne Forces of the Russian Armed Forces and Chief Referee of the “Sniper Frontier” contest, shared that he was impressed by the Vietnamese athletes because of their competence and sense of discipline observance.
In the meantime, the VPA’s contingent came in fourth out of the thirteen participating countries in the “Army of Culture” contest, earning eight other noble awards. Particularly, Vietnam came out on top in an online vote for the “Army of Culture” contest with a score of 3.55/5 points. At the same time, the introduction clip of the Vietnamese Art Troupe took the lead with more than 150,000 views and 26,000 likes.
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Art performances at the closing ceremony |
With the contests that the country has experienced previously, Vietnam achieved higher results or sustained its achievements this year, despite challenges and strict regulations. Particularly, the Engineering Contingent continued to hold its three-year record of bronze medals; the Field Kitchen and Signal ones both won the bronze medals, while the Artillery Contingent was placed first out of the five non-CIS countries. Meanwhile, although they did not win medals, some VPA’s contingents participating in the Army Games 2021 have advanced to the fourth place, close to the bronze medals.
According to Major General Pham Van Thai, Head of the VPA’s delegation participating in the Army Games 2021, the contingents were determined to overcome difficulties in order to achieve the greatest results possible while ensuring absolute safety as well as implementing COVID-19 prevention and control measures.
“The VPA's abroad contingents have successfully performed well all assigned tasks and obtained the highest results ever through four years of Vietnam’s participation in the Army Games 2021,” he affirmed.
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Art performances at the closing ceremony |
Vietnam's participation in the Arrmy Games demonstrated its commitment to its implementation of defense relations affairs. Moreover, this is a practical activity for the country to build a revolutionary, regular, elite, and increasingly-modernized military, contributing to the implementation of the military modernization strategy approved by the 13th National Party Congress and the 11th Military Party Congress, said Lieutenant General Phung Si Tan.
This is also an opportunity for Vietnamese soldiers to gain more experience in combat readiness, especially in accessing, employing, using and maintaining new and modern weapons and equipment, so as to raise training quality and affirm the VPA’s stature.
General Tan emphasized that the Army Games would contribute to promoting friendship between Vietnam and Russia as well as introducing Vietnamese culture and people to international friends.
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In the “Sniper Frontier” event, eight teams from seven countries competed in four stages: “Individual competition,” “Pair competition,” “Team competition,” and “Who is faster?” As a result, the cup and gold medal went to the Vietnamese contingent, while Uzbekistan and Russia won the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Six teams from five countries participating in the “Emergency Area” in the three stages: “Special Obstacle Course,” “Relay race,” and “Race to Victory.” Reportedly, the Russian contingent snatched the cup and the gold medal, while the Vietnamese and Belarusian teams won the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
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Translated by Minh Anh