HANOI, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam has bagged home only three gold medals at the 15th Asian Games (Asiad) in Qatar, failing to meet the target of gaining 5-7 gold medals.

    Up to 247 athletes have gained only three gold medals at the two events of sepaktakraw and karate, so Vietnam's sport has gone back, local newspaper Labor said Friday, noting that over 100 local athletes grabbed four gold medals at the 13th ASIAD four years ago.

    However, the picture is not totally grey since the country's sport has made progress. Of the 13 silver medals snatched at the 15th ASIAD, some were won in Olympic events such as gun shooting and weightlifting. Besides, several local athletes have finished fourth in difficult athletics events like 100-m and 800-m running.

    However, "the progress of Vietnam's sport has yet to catch up with regional rivals", said Nguyen Hong Minh, head of the country's delegation to the 15th ASIAD. Thailand has ranked the fifth in the medal table with 13 gold medals, and Singapore, which has always ranked below Vietnam in Southeast Asian Games in recent years, has gained 8 gold medals at the 15th ASIAD.

    The main reason is that Vietnam has not well prepared for the 15th Asiad, especially some events at which the country is very good, including bodybuilding, billiards and wushu (performance category). Being objective, Vietnam has yet to gather enough information about opponents and their training methods.

    Vietnam has sent few sport teams abroad for training in too short period of time due to limited funds. Supplies of competition equipments and tonic for athletes have been insufficient.

    More worryingly, Vietnam lacks a long-term strategy for detecting and training talented athletes, the report concluded.